by Aidy Award
She’d need to learn to tightly control that particular part of her magic, or she and Neo would be naked all the damn time.
“I think we need to wake her.” A whispered voice that was not so quiet filtered through to the bedroom. “It was her magic that brought them.”
“You don’t know that. Maybe it was her magic that kept them at bay.” Ah, the gnomes were here, and were arguing.
Kady stuck her head out of the room. Inanna was futzing about in the kitchenette and Kur was pacing. She didn’t see Neo anywhere and that put a damper on the fiery lust from last night. Poo.
She wasn't ready to think about what his absence meant. She needed caffeine for that. “I don’t suppose you could show me how to manifest some coffee, could you?”
Inanna smacked her husband on the arm and gave him the shut-your-pie-hole look. “No need, dear. I have some all ready for you. Figured you’d need it after your fireworks show last night.”
Kady turned forty-nine shades of pink. They had seen that?
She took the coffee, which already had a ton of cream and sugar, exactly how she liked it, and swallowed several gulps to hide her embarrassment.
“Your dragon is waiting outside for you. We’d better go take a look with him.” Inanna waved her toward the door.
What were they looking at?
The sun shone, and the sky sparkled a deep blue, but all around the forest, the shadow of the trees was dark. It was darker than it should have been, somehow ominous. All across the trees, the shadows had red cracks, as if they were bleeding lava.
Neo stood a few feet away, wearing only his torn pants, staring down at the cracks in the shadows. His arms were folded, and hard lines crossed his face. Concentration and worry were marred by his frown.
“Neo? What are those? It looks like the shadows are cracked.” Kady stepped beside him and stared up to the same place he looked.
“It’s not the shadows themselves, but the protective wards Inanna have set up around their garden. They form a circle that penetrates into the ground and up beyond the edge of where the trees can block out the light. What you’re seeing is the damage caused by attempts to break through the wards.”
“By the men in black?”
“No. Something much worse.”
Shadow Warriors are the Worst
“Tell me again what you think you saw.” Neo paced on the grass, staring alternately at the cracks in the wards and the supernatural garden gnomes who had placed them.
“Well, I came outside when I saw the lights out our window. Wanted to check that you all were safe.” Kur stroked his beard.
Inanna touched his nose. “You old perv, you knew they were fine. You wanted to see their fireworks.”
“So, what if I did? Anyway, while you two were busy lighting up the sky, I caught something out of the corner of my eye.”
Neo had never experienced anything like what happened between him and Kady last night. He’d heard that sex between mates was amazing. Yvaine wouldn't shut up about it.
He hadn’t expected Kady to pull his soul from his body and dance with it like that. He didn't have any other sexual encounters to compare it with, but he wouldn't have it any other way. He couldn't imagine sharing something so damn special and incredible with anyone but his true mate.
The fireworks the gnomes thought they were watching was the carnal dance of his soul blending with Kady’s.
He’d been so close to completing their mating. He’d barely been able to resist fusing their souls for all time. Biting her where his mark should be, ignited them both.
But he had stopped short of pouring his fire into her skin to leave the tattoo of his dragon on her. He wanted everyone to know she was his but, biting her, marking her, and claiming her for all the world to see would have to wait until he knew she would be safe, back in Rogue, where if the shadow warriors attacked again, the Black Dragon Brotherhood could guard her in his stead.
He had to complete his mission and defeat the new threat from Hell before he could take the time to go back to the crash site and try to recover his soul shard. Until he had retrieved it, the two of them couldn’t be united.
“What did you see?” Neo was already sure he knew. There was too much evidence to be anything else.
Kur continued. “I don’t rightly know. I’ve never seen the likes of it before. They were ghosts, sort of, but not like any spooks I’ve ever known.”
Neo examined this strange man and wasn't entirely sure he believed that Kur didn't comprehend what he'd seen. But why would he lie about that? There was no darkness in his soul. Neo would see it if there was. Dark called to dark and the demon part of him would know.
“This is going to sound like a dumb question, but are ghosts real?” Oh, his sweet Kady had so much to learn about who she was and where she belonged.
He loved watching as she unearthed each new discovery. Her awe and wonder at the parts of his world that were commonplace to a dragon breathed new life into him. Gave him hope.
He needed that now more than ever.
“Yes, dear. But these weren’t ghosts. They were eerie, they were made of both darkness and shadow, the very opposite of light.” Inanna shivered and rubbed her arms trying to stave off a chill that wasn’t there.
Kur pointed to the cracks in the darkness. “They bombarded the wards. I’ve never seen wards get a visible crack.”
That statement was a hundred percent true. Kur wasn't joking around now. Neo wasn't sure how he knew that, but something in the old man's eyes, or tone, or the way he looked, told Neo to believe him.
Neo shook his head. What a weird idea to pop into his brain all of a sudden.
He wished he'd sent the Black Dragon Brotherhood to investigate these strange events sooner. Dragon Warriors and their mates used pure elemental magic, so these protective wards were new to him. They might be the only thing that could hold the shadow warriors at bay. Nothing else he and the others in the Brotherhood tried had worked in their first and last battle with this new enemy.
“I even tried reinforcing them, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference.” Inanna shrugged and looked at Kady like she would have the answers. Neo had the distinct feeling these two strange garden gnomes were coaching him and his mate.
By all the reports from the families who'd been targeted by the shadow warriors, they would stop at nothing in pursuit of their target. This new magic was something the Black Dragon Brotherhood could use against the threat.
Neo's element was power over shadow. It had failed him completely when battling the shadow warriors, but he could still feel the magic of it flowing through him. The darkness of his element was a part of him, a part of his demon.
What Kady and the gnomes were all seeing in the simple shadows of the trees blocking light from the sun wasn’t just cracks in the wards. There were chunks of the shadow warriors themselves, left like blood from an injury.
They'd literally sacrificed bits of themselves trying to break in.
What Neo didn’t understand was why Kady, Kur and Inanna could see the remains with their bare eyes. Only those that had power of shadow should be able to perceive what he was seeing.
“The more light the two of you put out, the more they attacked the wards. Those buggers did not like your fireworks, pretty witch.” Kur winked at Kady and patted Neo on the back.
Kady appeared visibly shaken. She could figure out how to defend herself, and Neo, against other humans, but she hadn’t yet embraced her own powers or those of the rest of the world around her. He saw in the way her hands shook when she sipped from her mug that the idea of an attack of this kind scared her.
Well, she should be scared. The shadow warriors scared him. They were pure mindless evil and took away his innate ability to use his power over the element.
He’d been a demon for longer than he'd been a Dragon Warrior, and even the worst of the worst, like Jara demons and Ereshkigal, had a motivation for why they killed, maimed, attacked, or destroyed those aroun
d them.
Not the shadow warriors, as far as he could understand. They were emotionless, voiceless, driven only by the desire to steal yet another soul and leave behind an empty husk, still living, but completely void.
He’d seen it firsthand. That battle that he and the Brotherhood had to retreat from, they'd lost the family of witches they'd been interviewing. Their souls had been stolen right in front of him, before he and four other Dragon Warriors could do anything to save them. He would never forget that sight until the day that he died.
Neo would never let them do that to Kady.
He would give up his own soul himself first.
“Kur, you said yesterday you needed to transport the abode Kady and I stayed in. I suggest you prepare it and leave. The shadow warriors will continue to attack until they break through your wards, destroying everyone and everything here.” Neo glanced around the peaceful glen, sorry to have to leave it. “It’s time to go.”
“Oh no. Our poor little garden.” Inanna hugged Kur and glanced around the area as if committing it all to memory, knowing today was the last time she’d see it.
“Kady and I must continue on to our destination, so I can hook up with my team and use this new information to work to defeat this enemy of the supernatural people of the world. I've never seen magic such as your wards and I wonder if you might come with us and teach my team how to use your spells.”
Kur patted his wife’s back comfortingly. “Where is your team, son?”
“Rogue, New York. There is a force of Dragons stationed there working alongside the Wolf Tzar and his packs. They will be able to help us.” Jett and Yvaine should be able to convince Niko, the Wolf Tzar, and his mate Zara to work with the Brotherhood. Niko wasn't a fan of Dragonkind, but this situation was more important than any old grievances.
Hopefully Zara, Yvaine, and the other witch mates could help hone Kady’s formidable but unharnessed powers. He had a feeling she would be far superior compared to the rest of them combined if she could be taught how to use her magic to do more than create snowflakes.
Kur held out his hand to shake Neo's. “Then that’s where we’re going, too. Inanna has an, uh, old friend who lives in those parts. They’ll take us in.”
“Good. How long do you need to prepare?” Neo wanted them to be on their way as soon as they could.
Kur and Inanna exchanged looks. “Not long, maybe a couple hours. We need to prepare and load the other containers on the truck.”
Neo nodded, and the gnomes hurried off. That gave him enough time to teach Kady some basic magic and self-defense. She stood off to the side, looking lost and alone. He wanted nothing more than to wrap her up in layers of blankets lined with the softest down and protect her.
Not only did he not have that luxury, he didn’t think Kady would want it that way. She’d already proven she was smart and resourceful, and that she could keep a level head in a dangerous situation.
Which was fucking hot. His curvy warrior princess had his soul burning for her and his cock twitching. He crossed to her and ran his hands through her soft dark hair.
“Neo, I heard Kur and Inanna talking this morning. They think my magic brought those things here.” Kady twirled her mug in her hands and stared down at the ground.
“I doubt it. The Brotherhood doesn’t know enough about the shadow warriors to know when and where they would strike. But I had a run in with them a few days ago, so it’s more likely they were here for me.”
She leaned into his touch. “But how would they know you were here?”
This part he didn’t want to tell her. “The shadow warriors are soul stealers. They have had a taste of my soul before, so when we made love and our souls danced around us, they were probably drawn to it.”
“Holy crap.” She jumped away from him and put a foot's worth of space between them. “We are never having sex again. I don’t want anything to steal your soul.”
Neo pulled Kady to him, holding her tight to his body. “Oh, we will have lots of sex, my sweet fire. Because while I think the dance of our souls drew them, it also healed me from the battle wounds I received from them. Look.”
He pointed to the areas where his scales used to show through his skin. Where his dragon had not been able to heal him, Kady's love had. He kissed her, letting her taste the truth of his words. He wanted to take her right there in the field, but not before teaching her how to fend off the enemy.
Neo left her panting, and wanting, the soft glow of her soul seeking his across her skin. Exactly how he wished he could keep her. But no. “First, let’s play with your powers. You can use them to keep yourself safe.”
Neo met several witches in his investigation this last week, and he knew the ones who were mates to Dragon Warriors in Rogue, but he only partly understood how their magic worked. Those he'd met were nothing compared to Kady. Mostly they talked to healers who could do tricks that helped them in their trade, like spurring plant growth, making small objects appear or disappear, and mixing potions. The strongest magic he’d ever seen was when a witch took a sliver of Apollo's soul and bound it in his shard.
What he did understand was that a similar energy fueled the Dragon and the demon inside of him. He’d needed to learn how to harness that as a man to control his shift. He hoped the same idea would help Kady seize her own abilities.
She chewed at her lip in a way that was both sexy and vulnerable. “Can I use them to keep you safe too?”
“We’ll see. Now close your eyes. I want you to think of the last time you noticed your magic working.”
Kady scrunched her eyes tight and wrinkled her nose. “Okay, I got it.”
She was concentrating with intensity, and her face was adorable like this. He really should tell her to relax and let the magic flow, but he was getting a kick out of seeing her try so hard.
“Good, where do you feel it in your body?”
She reached up first to her throat, to the place Neo had almost marked her. Then her hand drifted down to her chest. “I think it’s behind my heart, but kind of in my belly too.”
“Concentrate on that feeling, breathe into it.”
Kady’s face relaxed with each breath and the glow of her skin increased, but not in the same way as before. This light was all her own. Soft, ethereal, and a deep red, tinged with highlights of amber. The most beautiful of flames.
It reminded him of the red color of his soul shard. He reached in vain for the pendant that he hadn’t been without since Jett and Yvaine had created them for all the Black Dragon Wyr. It still wasn’t there. Without it, he couldn’t complete the mating, couldn’t claim her fully, and make her his forever.
“I feel it. It’s soft and warm.” Her voice had that same awe in it that Neo felt the day Yvaine's blood saved him, turning him from demon to dragon and man.
“See if you can expand it, let it spread across your whole body.”
The red glow swelled, washing across her skin, surrounding her in its light.
“Yes, that’s it, love. Your magic is as beautiful as you.” So breathtaking that Neo felt slightly lightheaded at the sight.
Kady opened her eyes and they wandered, looking at the waves of light and energy pouring out of her. “It is pretty. But what can I do with it?”
“You’ll learn more about that, more than I can teach you, when we get to Rogue. For now, see if you can use it to call to the elements and ask them to create you a shield.”
Kady closed her eyes again. Her light shimmered, and she disappeared.
Neo reached out, searching for her, freaking out for a full second, and then he found her arm. She was there, but invisible. Where his hand touched her, it faded as well. That was a damn good trick. “Don’t open your eyes, but concentrate on that feeling, right there. Hold it, feel it, so you can try to recreate it.”
Her voice was soft, but confident. “Is it the shield, like you said?”
“No. But this is even better. Do you remember the feeling? Think you can do it again?�
�� He would make her practice until she could.
“Maybe.” Her voice had more confidence than her words.
“Come back to that warm, soft place you found before.”
Kady shimmered back into view. As she reappeared, her soft light pushed out from her, expanding, turning from a glow to rays of light. The light reached into the darkness of the forest, penetrating the remaining wards.
A high-pitched scream, like an animal trapped and in pain, mixed with the call of a banshee, screeched through the air.
Neo looked behind Kady into the trees and saw the shadows bearing down, crashing into the wards, cracking them even further.
He kept the fear out of his voice by putting command into it. “Kady, pull back your light, now.”
She gasped, and instead of her light coming back to her, it spread like an explosion through the sky. The shadow warrior screamed again, first reaching for her light, then recoiling as it crackled, burned by her magic. It didn’t stay away long, hurtling itself at both her light and the wards.
“Ouch. Ow.” Kady cried out, matching the pain of the creature as the shadow crashed with her magic.
Neo pulled her to him, taking her face in his hands. Her light sizzled through him but it didn’t hurt, it washed through him like the energy of a thousand men. “Sweet fire, relax, bring your light back, back to me. Close your eyes and find that feeling you had before.”
“Ouch, I can’t.” Kady’s eyes darted from the shadows attacking her light, to him, and back again.
“You can Kady, you must.” Neo didn't have an alpha voice, but his dragon pushed itself into his words, making it a close estimation.
She swallowed and nodded her head. Her eyes fluttered shut, but her face jerked as the shadow warrior continued its barrage.
The trees nearest them shattered. The wards were destroyed. The shadows careened across the field toward them.
First Dragon, please don’t take her from me now.