Dragon's Curse (Harlequin Nocturne) (21 page)

Ariel relaxed as his warmth radiated through her. She
recognized the distinctive heat of Cam’s dragon as it sought to bond with the
beast inside her.

Unsteady from the emotions whipping through her, she leaned her
forehead against his chest. “That isn’t fair, you know.”

She felt him shrug, before he replied, “Both of you must trust
me in this. You have to obey me.”

She chuckled to hide her shock. “Obey you?”

Cam slid his arms from around her to grasp her shoulders and
hold her slightly away from him. “Ariel, I am not playing some cruel hoax on
you. I would never do that. Carl is gone. The Learneds used his body to slip
inside the Lair.”

The man standing before her was so solemn, so sure of himself.
But he was wrong. Dead wrong. “That isn’t possible.”

“And dragons don’t exist, do they?”

Well, he had her on that one, but still, what he was suggesting
was ludicrous. She glanced over her shoulder at Carl. “He’s still
breathing.”

“It’s nothing but an illusion. The Learneds want you to believe
he’s alive.”

She stared up at Cam. “Since you can’t prove otherwise, I do
believe he’s alive.”

He frowned. “I can’t protect you well enough in my current
form.”

“Then let the dragon do it.”

“But he doesn’t know any magic.”

She laughed, not even bothering to hide her amusement at his
ridiculous statement. “Oh, Cameron. For the love of God, your dragon
is
magic. How do I know that but you don’t?”

His fierce expression deepened for a moment before he gently
pushed her aside. “Go stand by the door.”

By the time she reached the door and turned around, Cam was
gone. But an iridescent dragon loomed over her brother.

She watched, transfixed, while the beast waved away the shield
and then with his hand…forefoot…held barely above Carl’s face crooned some
strangely melodious tune.

Her brother’s body vibrated on the bed. The dragon extended one
talon and gently drew the tip down Carl’s forehead, nose, across his lips and
finally to his chin without leaving a trace of blood behind.

A fog swirled around her brother. Ariel’s breath caught in her
throat as the thick fog gathered speed, darkening with every passing turn.

It rose from around Carl’s body like a tornado, spinning into
alternating forms of Carl and Jeremy Renalde.

Certain he’d done this on purpose, Ariel screamed at Cam. “What
have you done?”

Without waiting for a response, she turned and ran from the
room. Ariel raced out of the apartment not sure where to go, but knowing she had
to get away from Cam.

Carl had been fine until now. What reason had Cam had to kill
him in such a manner before her eyes? Why would he do such a thing?

Didn’t he know how much she loved her brother? Didn’t he
realize that everything she’d done had been for Carl? Didn’t he care?

Her breath hitched as a sickening heaviness settled over her
heart.

What if her enemy wasn’t Renalde? What if the enemy who
threatened her more was Cameron Drake?

Frantic, she slammed her palm against the elevator buttons, not
caring which floor she ended up on.

* * *

“…and that’s how I ended up here at the Lair.” Aelthed
fell silent. He’d not spoken this much in centuries. Now he would wait to hear
what Danielle Drake thought of all he’d told her.

“My nephew is a dragon changeling?”

That’s all she got out of his overlong explanation? “You didn’t
know this before?”

“No.”

There was a sadness in her voice that he couldn’t quite
pinpoint. “Maybe he wanted it to be his secret.”

“I suppose. But what are we going to do about Nathan and that
woman’s brother?”

“
That woman
is your nephew’s
mate.”

“No need to remind me.” Danielle’s long sigh was audible even
inside his cube. “I should have expected as much.”

“If she dies, he will not get another chance at happiness or
love.”

“Perhaps, but according to the curse you mentioned, he isn’t
going to get a chance even if she lives.”

“I do not think you quite understand.”

“And what don’t I understand?”

Her voice came from farther away. Aelthed opened a mental view
of the apartment to find that Danielle had gone into the kitchen for something
to drink. She returned with a steaming cup in her hand.

“The woman is not just his soul’s mate, she too is a
changeling.”

“Impossible.” She took a sip from the cup then set it on the
table. “I think you’re mistaken.”

“Not in the least.”

Danielle laughed softly. “Of course not.”

Aelthed bristled at the haughty tone of her voice. She thought
he was speaking in jest? “Since your nephew is getting ready to do battle with
the younger Learned, and the woman has run away to hide in the basement, what
are you doing here?”

“How do you suggest I help Cameron?”

“He doesn’t need your help. You’d only be in his way.”

“Wonderful, I get to go find his gardener.”

“Ariel.” Aelthed shook his head. “Her name is Ariel.”

He sensed, rather than saw, Danielle rise from the sofa and
head toward the door. “Where are you going?”

Her footsteps paused. “To the basement?”

“Don’t leave my cube here.” The last thing he wanted to do was
risk ending up back in Nathan’s hands.

Danielle returned to grab the cube and drop it into the pocket
of her jacket. She patted the pocket. “Happy now?”

“Woman, go do your job.”

Chapter 20

A
riel rested her head against the cool
brick wall at her back. The basement was shrouded in darkness, yet she’d still
chosen to squeeze into the small space between the ancient chest and the wall in
the far corner.

With her knees bent beneath her chin and her arms wrapped
tightly around them, she wondered what would happen to her now. She had to find
a way out of the Lair. If she waited long enough it would be nighttime.

And while she realized that Cam—or his dragon—would sense her
every move, she might have a shot at escaping if she could only hold out until
he fell asleep. But how was she going to know if he slept or not?

She rested her forehead on her bent knees. Harold had helped
her get Carl up to her apartment, perhaps he might be willing to help?

The door to the basement creaked open. Ariel stiffened,
pressing farther back into the corner, trying to make herself as small as
possible.

For a moment, when the lights didn’t come on, she feared the
visitor was Cam and held her breath, too afraid to breathe lest he hear the
slightest sound.

Footsteps drew nearer, stopping directly in front of her. Ariel
bit the inside of her lip to keep from crying out.

“Ariel?”

Her breath escaped on a gasp of shock and fear of another
threat to her life. If anyone wanted her dead more than Danielle Drake she
didn’t know who it might be.

“Ariel, I’m not here to hurt you. I swear it.” The woman
flicked a lighter and held it to the wick of a candle. She set the candle on top
of the chest and sat down on the floor. “I came to help.”

“Help?” It was all Ariel could do not to laugh. “Then get me
out of here.”

“Out of where? The Lair?”

“Yes.”

Danielle shook her head. “No, that I won’t do. I fear my nephew
needs you.”

A flash of panic raced down her spine. “Is Cam hurt?”

“No. Not as far as I know.”

“Then he doesn’t need me for anything.”

“Yes, he does.” Danielle pulled a wooden puzzle cube from her
pocket and set it next to the candle. “Listen carefully. Tell me if you can hear
him.”

Ariel stared at the cube, certain it was the one Renalde had
ordered her to find. Danielle had had it all this time?

“Can you?”

“I don’t hear anything.”

Danielle sighed. “I know it’s hard, but relax, clear your mind
of as much clutter as you can and just listen.”

Clear her mind? That would be like trying to sweep away a
roiling windstorm with a flyswatter. But she closed her eyes and tried her
best.

“Ariel, are you listening? Can you hear me?” A strange man’s
voice seemed to reach out of the darkness toward her.

She jumped. “Yes. Who are you?”

“Aelthed.”

She frowned. Why did that name seem familiar? Suddenly it
clicked. “You wrote the grimoire.”

“Yes.”

“And you’re related to the Learneds.”

“So are the Drakes. We’re all related.”

Danielle added, “Just one big happy family.”

Ariel agreed with the overt sarcasm in Danielle’s tone. “So,
tell me, what am I supposed to do to help Cam and why should I?”

“You should help him because he’s your mate.”

The seriousness of Aelthed’s tone took her by surprise. “My
mate? Why does everyone keep saying that?”

“Because it’s true. Are you not as he is? Do you deny the
connection of your beasts?”

Ariel ignored Danielle’s gasp and subsequent mumbling. “He
killed my brother.”

“Who?”

“The dragon.”

“That’s doubtful, my dear. Highly unlikely since his
single-minded goal is to protect you.”

“You weren’t there.” Ariel swallowed against the sharp pain in
her throat as the scene of her brother’s death passed through her mind over and
over. “He killed Carl right in front of me.”

“No. Listen to me, hear me, Ariel. Cameron has had more than
ample opportunity to kill you. But neither the wizard, nor the dragon, have ever
harmed you. Am I right?”

It was so hard to think clearly. Her mind was such a jumbled
mass of confusion that she had to force her thoughts into some semblance of
order. Finally, she answered, “Yes.”

“I have no way of knowing what did or didn’t happen to your
brother. But I sense no lingering, unidentified spirit here at Dragon’s Lair.
’Tis doubtful the lad died here. If he had, I would know it.”

“How? How would you know?”

“Because, my dear, I too have already passed beyond this
life.”

Ariel swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. She heard the
sincerity in his words. Oh, God, she was alone, there was no one but her. What
would she do now?

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what you will do besides carry on. You
have to, because you aren’t alone. You have a dragon lord as a mate. Like it or
not, Ariel, if you don’t help the man and the dragon become one, there will be
no future for either.”

Recent images from the grimoire raced across her mind. A man
and a dragon fought or a half man and a half dragon fought each other. The
participants in the battle were different each time, but cowering in the
background was a woman, who was always left alone and unprotected.

She’d wondered at the meaning of the drawings, but Cam had
abruptly brushed her off, so she hadn’t grilled him again. The thought that
formed in her mind was insane. But what aspect of her entire stay at the Lair
hadn’t been insane in some way?

“He’s the one who is cursed, isn’t he?”

“Yes, but you can help break that curse. Just as you can now
help him defeat your common enemy.”

She laughed weakly, more from mental exhaustion than humor. “I
don’t know how to use my powers. I can’t help him.”

“Ah, but you can.” Danielle broke into the conversation. She
leaned forward and touched Ariel’s shoulder. “You currently possess more power
than anyone else at the Lair, including Cameron.”

Ariel stared at her in the flickering candlelight. “I don’t
know what you’re talking…” She paused as a warmth filled her, spreading up
through her chest, making her heart pound and lending strength to her overtired
mind and body. “What is this?”

Danielle explained, “It’s unfettered power. Since you have no
experience, you don’t yet know what you
can’t
do. So
everything, anything, is still possible.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Why would that happen?”

“There isn’t time to teach you what is or isn’t possible. All
you need to know, what you need to believe, is that your mind has no
limitations. You are capable of anything you can imagine.”

Ariel looked back at the puzzle cube. “Where are they now?”

“In the gardens behind the Lair.”

Marvelous. All her work would have been for nothing. She rose.
“You’ll see to each other?”

Danielle picked up the cube as she, too, rose and dropped it
back into her pocket. “We’ll be waiting in my apartment.”

* * *

Another fireball flew past Cam’s head. He dipped his
long neck, easily dodging the flames as he once again circled the unfamiliar
wizard. So far he’d been unable to break through the barrier the man had cast
around himself.

At this point, it was a standoff that would last until one of
them tired and made a costly mistake. As far as Cam was concerned, that would be
fine, because he wasn’t going to be the one paying the cost.

This wizard, this spawn of the Learned, wasn’t leaving the Lair
alive.

“Come on, Drake. Come down here and fight like a man instead of
an animal. Do you always hide behind a dragon’s mask like a coward?”

Cam knew the man was taunting him, trying to get him to let go
of dragon form and face him on a more level field of battle. He would have to be
an idiot to do something that stupid.

This wasn’t a battle he could lose. To keep his family and his
mate safe, he had to win.

The only sure way to do that was to use every weapon at his
disposal. His thicker hide, wings and ability to breathe fire wasn’t something
he planned to toss into a closet. That would be like going into a gunfight
without bullets.

“Or are you afraid? Do you fear that I’ll drain the life from
you like my father did that idiot boy?” The Learned tossed back his head and
laughed. “I’m sure your little gardener will be just as concerned for your
lifeless body as she was for his.”

Unheralded, from out of nowhere, another dragon dropped from
the sky. In all its iridescent glory, it dived straight for the Learned.

Cam’s beast roared as the other dragon jetted past him without
a glance. Ariel. She’d only just learned how to take on a dragon’s form, and had
only flown in a half-altered dream state.

And now she planned to take on the Learned?

He didn’t know whether to be merely angry or insanely outraged.
So he chose both.

This was
his
kill and she wasn’t
going to cheat him out of it. If she wanted to play in his world, then she’d do
so by the rules.

His rules.

Quickly overtaking her, he soared beneath her, forcing her to
break her dive. Once she headed back up toward the clouds, he spun above her and
grasped her shoulder between his teeth and shook her.

Frantically beating her wings, she tried to break free, but Cam
grabbed her with his talons, forcing her to submit.

Her screams of pain and anger softening to a mewling cry, she
slowed the frantic pace of her wings and fell lax in his hold.

He released her instantly, and butting her away with his head,
turned back to the stunned wizard. Without wasting another precious second, he
dived full force into the now-weaker barrier and broke through.

Talons easily broke through flesh and bone, the man’s piercing
scream split the air for less than a heartbeat. Cam felt the life force fade
away, and within moments, the wizard’s body disintegrated into a pile of ashes
on the ground.

Certain the immediate danger was gone, Cam turned to face
Ariel. She hovered in the air at the tree line, meekly meeting his stare.

To his astonishment, the dragon was as angry at her as he was.
He would have thought the lovesick beast would be willing to cave.

Instead, he wanted to shake his mate until her teeth rattled
and she realized what a stupid foolish move it had been to put herself in such
danger.

His mate
.

Cam lowered his head and closed his eyes as he changed back
into human form. He didn’t look to see what Ariel was doing.

Right now, he needed to get as far away from her as
possible.

He needed to think. To figure out what was different, because
something was very different. For the first time in ages, he felt as if there
could be a future with someone, with Ariel.

He felt it. His dragon felt it. The curse had suddenly become
meaningless.

He should be overjoyed. Elated. Relieved.

Instead, he was uncertain of what sharing a future with another
changeling would bring. He’d been the only one for so many years now that being
alone was normal.

Having another changeling around—a female one, to boot—would be
added responsibility, someone else to worry about. Was he ready for that? At
just this second, no. He needed a little time to sort things through.

“Cam!”

He heard her shout, but kept walking toward the door.

“Cam, please. I’m sorry.”

Pausing at the side door, he asked, “For what?”

“For accusing you of killing Carl. I should have known
better.”

Since he hadn’t thought she’d actually meant it to begin with,
he’d almost forgotten the incident. “That’s not what you should be sorry
for.”

When she didn’t say anything, he left her standing in the night
air alone.

* * *

Ariel sat on the edge of her bed staring at her packed
bags. Harold would be up around six in the morning to take them down to her van.
The police and a local doctor had declared Carl’s death as related to his prior
accident, so the funeral home had just picked up Carl’s body. Tomorrow she would
make the final arrangements to transport him home for burial.

She fell sideways onto the bed. None of this was supposed to
happen. She’d only had to find the pendant, the box, free Carl and then they
would go home, together—alive and well.

Instead, Carl was dead, and the only man who would ever
understand her, ever accept her for what she was had walked away from her.

Oh, wouldn’t her parents be so proud? Actually, she doubted
they could have been any more disgusted or disappointed with her than she was
herself.

She wanted to cry, needed to sob herself to sleep. But
inexplicably, the tears wouldn’t come. Finally, she gave up and stood outside on
the balcony watching as two owls hunted by moonlight.

What was wrong with Cam? She needed desperately to apologize
before she left, but she didn’t know what to apologize for.

The idea of leaving the Lair without seeing or speaking to him
again made her ill. Physically queasy ill. Her head pounded and her stomach
twisted and turned so much that she hadn’t bothered to find something to eat for
dinner.

Ariel’s wandering attention fell briefly on the two owls again.
One landed just clear of the woods, while the other seemed to be hunting.

Even if she did get up the nerve to go apologize to him, what
would she say then? Sorry? He’d respond with a nod, or maybe even a one- or
two-word answer and then what?

In her current state, Ariel knew that even though she could
summon the tears now, they would do a free fall if he was around.

The hunting owl returned with what appeared to be some kind of
rodent, and dropped it at the other owl’s feet.

She frowned. Straightening from her position leaning on the
railing, Ariel swore softly.

She shook her head. That was it. She should have realized what
she’d done earlier.

Back inside the apartment, she ran a comb through her hair,
freshened up her makeup a little and headed for Cam’s apartment.