“No, it wants me.”
“Do as I say,” Ty scolded as he grabbed Abby and pushed her closer to Luc. Luc snatched her up and raced towards the castle as flames shot from the black dragons nostrils.
“Right here,” Ty shouted thrashing his arms in the air to get the dragon’s attention. The pillar of fire brushed over Ty as Luc lunged for the door. Abby went flying into the parlor as Luc scrambled to close the doors behind him.
“What are you doing! We can’t just leave him out there.” Abby scrambled to her feet and charged the door. Luc wrapped his arms around her waist holding her back as she pushed her way closer to the door.
“Ty can take care of himself.”
“So can I.”
Abby kicked her knee up high nailing Luc in the gut. As Luc dropped his hands Abby made a break for it and threw open the doors. Her eyes widened as she saw Ty dragging the stranger by the back of his neck towards the open door.
“How did you?” Abby fumbled as Ty moved past her and into the parlor.
“Abby this is Hank,” Ty said tossing the man on the ground as Luc and Ty circled around him.
“What do you want?” Abby asked glaring at him. The man hissed and chomped at the bit trying to inch his way closer to Abby.
“It’s true, there is another,” Hank said clawing the air. “She wants you dead.”
“The Mistress?” Abby’s voice cracked as Hank smiled maliciously at her.
“Why are you here?”
“The necklace,” Hank glanced at it dangling from Ty’s hand. Ty moved slowly over to Abby and handed her it. Without delay, Abby snatched from Ty and shoved it into her pocket.
“Well, you can go back and tell your Mistress it failed.”
Hank’s laughter caught Abby off guard as it filled the room. She stole a glance at Luc then Ty before turning her gaze back to Hank.
“It calls to all of us,” Hank sneered.
“Crap,” Ty’s hand jolted out to Abby. “Give it to me.”
“Why?” Abby asked stepping away.
“Don’t you see? That thing is like a beacon to her minions. She will empty her fortress of all her children.”
“Then we go to her.”
“What about him?” Luc asked keeping his eyes trained on Hank.
“I have failed,” Hank said banging his hands against his head. Suddenly, he stopped and looked around as if listening to something the others couldn’t hear. Before Luc or Ty could stop him, Hank slipped his hand into his chest and pulled out his heart.
“To the Mistress,” Hank shouted as his fingers squeezed the heart to dust killing Hank in the process. Abby stepped back as the human form burned until it was nothing more than a pile of ash at her feet.
“Is this the kind of power she has on her people?” Abby asked appalled by the stench in the air. Luc and Ty nodded.
“Why can’t she control the two of you?” Abby asked as she stepped away from the brothers. “Aren’t you both her children as well?”
“Abby,” Luc stepped closer to her with his hands raised. “When I gave you my heart all those years ago, there was nothing left of me to give her.”
Abby bobbed her head slowly letting Luc’s words sink in. She pressed her lips into a tight line before shifting her gaze to Ty. Ty’s head dropped and he exhaled.
“I swear, she doesn’t have a piece of me. Unlike the others who gave her their hearts.”
“But she has some kind of hold on you doesn’t she?”
Ty lowered his eyes and nodded his head. Abby gasped as the necklace in her pocket began to feel more like a boulder.
“Then all the more reason for us to stop her,” Abby turned to Luc then back to Ty. “I’ll need both of you if my plan is going to work.”
“And just want is your plan?”
“We take the fight to her.”
Chapter 6
The sun’s rays filtered through the dark clouds as Abby stood on the balcony watching the light fade. Her heart sank as the sun went down. Doubt seeped through her mind as she went over her plan in her head. The idea of losing either Ty or Luc stabbed her and gnawed at her stomach, twisting it into knots.
“You okay?”
Abby turned to find Ty leaning against the frame of the door watching her. She flashed him a weak smile as she tried to hide the underlining fear.
“Yep.”
“You know we don’t have to do this,” Ty said moving closer to her. She shook her head and dropped her gaze to stare at her fingers.
“Yes, we do.”
“Why?”
“Because,” Abby paused focusing on the dirt beneath her fingernails. “She will just keep sending people after me. She won’t rest until I’m dead.”
“You know why don’t you?”
“Why she’s after me?” Abby glanced to Ty. Her eyes filled with wonder as she glanced at him.
“It’s because I am a female dragon isn’t it?”
“Partly. The Mistress likes her station. In our culture, the one who kills the king becomes the next ruler. You however, are new and she can’t believe someone so young took him out with a blade. She wants revenge.”
“I don’t understand. Revenge? I thought she would have been happy to see him die.”
“Yes, but she wanted to do it herself. She wanted the position of the absolute rule and with you still alive, that power is challenged.”
“But if she has one of her goons take me out, won’t that make them the next ruler?”
“They don’t want to kill you. They are trying to kidnap you and bring you to her so she can make an example of you.”
“So what if we left one come here and take me?”
“Not going to happen,” Luc interrupted. Both Abby and Ty twisted their heads to find Luc with his arms crossed and his face stern.
“No way in hell am I going to let that woman take you away from me. I wouldn’t let death and I am not going to let her.”
“And how do you plan to stop her brother when you can’t even stop me?” Ty said glaring at Luc. Abby shook her head and stepped between the two.
“Please, stop. We can’t fight amongst ourselves if we are going to stop her.” Abby held her arms out trying to stop the jabbing between them. “Don’t you see? She is twisting her way into our lives right now. This has to stop.”
“So you just want to go in there and be like, ‘Hi, I’m Abby let’s be friends?’” Luc’s voice was thick with aggravation.
“We aren’t going to be friends,” Abby said seething. “One us is going to die and I promise it won’t be me.”
Luc dropped his stance and shook his head. Abby watched as Luc’s shoulders dropped and he stepped closer to her. “Abby, I won’t let you go on a suicide mission.”
“Luc, you have to trust me.”
“I do. And I love you.”
“Then stand with me.”
“I swear I will protect you with my dying breath,” Luc opened his arms and wrapped them around her holding her tightly.
“Luc is right though, The Mistress is no joke. She is powerful, and she has tricks up her sleeve.”
Abby pushed Luc away from her and straightened her back. As her eyes flashed between the brothers, she held her ground.
“We can’t just sit here and wait for another attack. You can’t protect me every second of every day. The first time we let our guard down she’ll get me and then what?”
“That won’t happen,” Ty and Luc said in unison.
“But it can. That’s my point. I don’t want to live like that. So are you with me or not?” Abby stepped further away from Luc and Ty giving them the option to back out.
“If you are hellbent on doing this, then I’m with you. You know I don’t back down from a fight,” Ty said stepping towards her.
“You’ll need someone to protect you from Ty if the Mistress sinks her hooks into him. So I guess, I’m with you too.”
“I love you both, please remember that. No matter what happens tonight, no
matter who gets out of this alive, I have always loved you both very much.” Abby opened her arms and moved towards the brothers hugging them both next to her.
“Alright then,” Ty grumbled kissing her on the forehead. “Let’s do this.”
“Do you have what we need?” Luc asked keeping his eyes locked on her as she stepped back.
“I have everything we need,” Abby glanced to the bag in the corner of the balcony.
Ty nodded and stepped further away from her. The blue flame ignited at his feet and soon his human form was swallowed by the light. Abby turned her head as the fire ate away at his human form. As soon as the fire was extinguished, she turned to face him again.
“Lead the way,” Abby said. Ty nodded his massive head as the stone balcony trembled under his weight. She waited as Ty stepped off the balcony and climbed up to the roof of the castle. She thought of the old fairy tales she had read about dragons and chuckled.
“What?” Luc asked watching his brother post himself on the highest point of the house.
“It’s just all those stories about dragons guarding a princess in a castle. It turns out that they were real and this is what it looked like.”
“You’d be amazed at how many of those stories are written about Ty.”
“Seriously?” Abby’s eyes popped open and glanced back to the dragon on the roof.
“You really think Ty would have let those people live if they didn’t write about him?”
“It just never dawned on me the kind of dragon he is until now.”
“Ty will protect you, and I will protect you from him if it comes down to that.”
“I know you will,” Abby smiled as Luc blew her a kiss before shifting into his dragon form.
Abby waited for Luc to drop off the edge and take to the skies before shifting. She watched at Luc circled around their home ensuring the skies were safe as Ty held his position waiting for her shift. She stepped back as her doubts stabbed her. But she wasn’t about to let them cripple her. She had her two protectors with her and knew that they would do anything for her.
She let the flames wash over her as she slipped out of her human form and revealed the beast within her. With every shift she did, she understood herself better. She knew that she had all the power she needed to defeat her new foe, and that confidence squashed all lingering doubts and fears that had swelled in her.
Abby turned her head and grabbed the bag in the corner of the balcony with her teeth before extending her wings. The air caught under her lifting her higher into the atmosphere. She watched as Ty pushed off the roof sending a cascade of shingles to the ground.
“This is it,” she thought as Ty climbed to her location and whooshed past her. She waited for Luc and only once he was in her sights, did she follow Ty into the unknown.
With the bag between her teeth she soared through the skies praying that they would make it there without a hitch. Every passing shadow caused her heart to beat a little faster. But as they flew towards their doom, a new sensation filled her. She dived towards the lake letting her claws graze over the shimmering waters.
A flash back of her dreams that had once terrified her now gave her purpose. She no longer had to be afraid of the beast, for she wasn’t like the monsters of lore. She was so much more and tonight she was going to prove it.
Chapter 7
Ty twisted his massive head towards Abby. As the clouds parted her eyes widened. There nestled between the mountains a large house rose between the cliffs joining the two mountains together. Abby gasped nearly dropping the bag that she held in her teeth. Everything from the tall peaks of the roof to the drawbridge was a spitting replica of her childhood stories. But no matter which book she pulled out of her head, none of them compared to what she now saw.
Hesitant she followed Ty’s lead to descend on the secret castle. The closer she got the more she realized that the house was more than just a secluded place high in the mountains. Only dragons would be able to get to it. There were no roads leading to or away from it. Abby noticed no trails weaving through the jagged face of the mountain for a stranger to take.
No, the only way anyone would ever be able to reach it was by the air. As they dropped down, the courtyard and balconies where huge and structured to handle the array of dragons that would perch there. She noticed the boulders held up the balconies as the mountain snuggled into the castle to ensure it could never be moved.
Ty landed onto the slick icy balcony, digging his claws into the stone to keep him from sliding. Abby swallowed hard hoping she would be able to show the same finesse Ty showed. It was a good thing Ty landed first, or Abby would have missed her mark and skidded into the building.
As she dug her claws into the stone, she wondered how many other dragons had wrecked the house from missing their marks. She thought of young dragons taking out the wing of the castle and the punishment that would ensue. But to her surprise, landing on such a slippery place was no different from a meadow or even Ty’s balcony.
Ty nodded with approval as he held his ground expecting her to careen into him. But when she stopped short of hitting him he laughed and quickly shifted into his human form.
“Well done,” he cheered as Luc came down on them. “Let’s see if my brother can do it the way you did.”
Abby remained in her dragon form as Luc plowed into the stone balcony. Before he could extend his claws to land, he slid into Abby knocking her back. She tried to hold her position as Ty scrambled to get out of the way.
Just as Abby’s shoulder scrapped the side of the house, Luc jabbed his claws into the stone and stopped himself. He glanced at Abby and quickly shifted.
“Are you okay?” Luc pleaded as Abby whimpered. She glanced to her shoulder and sucked in a deep breath as the wind stung her scratch.
“Come on, we need to go. Abby shifts back into human, we don’t want the Mistress to think we have come to fight.”
Abby let out a growl that echoed and bounced between the mountains. The sound carried well over the peaks and she wondered if what the humans must be thinking about the noise.
“Abby,” Ty shouted with irritation. Deep in her mind she wanted the Mistress to see her in all her glory. She wanted her to tremble at her size and might. But if the Mistress was as terrible as Luc and Ty told her, then it would be best if she let it go for now.
Abby dropped the bag in her mouth for Ty to catch as she shifted out of her dragon form. The winter chill of the mountain was nothing to her when she was a beast, but now, she shivered for warmth.
“Quickly, put these on,” Ty said reaching into the bag and tossing Abby her clothes before giving Luc his.
“Think they heard us?” Luc asked pulling his sweater over his head. As soon as the words escaped his lips, the wooden doors opened up and four men with armor marched out to greet them. Abby stepped closer to Luc as the men surrounded them.
“The Mistress has been expecting you,” they said to Ty as they stood like statues in the dark. Abby turned to Luc wondering if they noticed them at all.
“I’m sure she has,” Abby spoke causing the guards to draw out their weapons.
“Easy,” Ty panic rippled through Ty as he pushed himself in front of the blades aimed at Abby. “We aren’t here to start anything.”
“Why has she come?” they asked jabbing their blades towards Abby.
“We thought,” Luc said stepping in to shield Abby. “That the Mistress might want to see her.”
The guards glanced at one another before slowly dropping their blades. Ty exhaled as Abby’s heart thundered in her ears. She knew that coming here would be dangerous, she just didn’t realize how well the place was guarded until that very moment.
“Follow us,” they said standing straight. Abby, Luc, and Ty watched as the two men took point while the other two closed in around them and marched them into the open doors.
Abby’s mouth dropped as she scanned the room. So many people stood between them and the stage located at the back of the
room. She wondered what the Mistress looked like as they drew closer.
“Don’t look her in the eyes,” Ty whispered to Abby. “She can steal your very soul.”
Abby nodded as the crowd stared and hissed at them. Within her chest Abby’s heart was drumming to a beat of its own. She knew that if she was going to speak, she needed to get control of herself. She took in a deep breath as the crowd thinned out to reveal a woman cloaked in a satin robe sitting on a glass throne. Abby tried to squint her eyes to see, but the woman’s face was shrouded in darkness.
“Ty, how good of you to join us again,” the soft voice jingled like bells in Abby’s ears. Her ears perked at the gentle tones as glanced at Luc and Ty beside her. The brothers bowed low keeping their eyes to the ground as Abby remained standing straight to steal a glimpse of her enemy.
The Mistress stood and moved like flowing water to the stairs that led up to her stage. Everyone in the room gasped and bowed as Abby wondered if she should follow protocol.
“I see you have brought me a gift,” the Mistress said hovering over Abby. Abby’s eyes widened as the Mistress tugged the cloak from her face.
A simple gasp escaped Abby’s lips as she noticed the stark red hair flowing down around the Mistress’ face like flames. Even her eyes smoldered with an intense flame that Abby had seen before.
“I know you,” Abby whispered. Ever since Abby had discovered her true nature, she had noticed changes in her appearance. The red flaming hair, the inferno in the depths of her gaze. Abby stumbled back as she realized the woman before she was her.
“Of course you do,” the Mistress said taking a step closer to Abby. As the woman spoke Abby could feel the pressure of her words trying to seep into her.
“All my children know me.” Abby fought back the darkness that poked and prodded her mind. Images of another life filled Abby’s mind and in one single moment Abby understood everything.
“You are my mother,” Abby said. Ty and Luc stole a glance at each other wondering what was going on. They expected the Mistress to mess with their minds, but going directly after Abby’s was too far.
The Fate of the Dragons Series Box Set Page 17