Call of the Dragon (Return to Avalore Book 1) (5 page)

Chapter 4

The steady pitter-pat of raindrops on the bedroom window coaxed Rhia awake. Everything was peaceful for a change. No one was yelling, there were no crying babies, even old Mr. Randolph’s blasted TV was quiet this morning.

The fight with the beast, Drake popping out of thin air, the fire escape, had it all happened or was it some weird dream? If it were real, she’d be sore but she felt great, rested. Arms over her head and toes pointed, she stretched. She stilled partway through a deep breath. Had she slept in her dirty, torn up clothes? Her eyes popped open as she sat straight up and scanned the room.

The huge four-poster bed she occupied sat between two large floor-to-ceiling windows. Beautiful mahogany dressers and nightstands matched the carved bedposts. The entire room was bright and airy despite the slow drizzle of rain outside. The mattress beneath her was soft as a cloud, and the embroidered sheets glided over her like satin. Everything in the room screamed of luxury. The only thing out of place was her. Looking down at her filthy rumpled clothes, she scooted off the bed. Not that it mattered. She’d slept in the bed. Whatever dirt or grime she’d had on her, was undoubtedly on the sheets already.

Her feet sank into a thick, plush carpet as she padded over to peer out of one of the enormous windows. Off to her right, sailboats and cargo ships dotted the waters of the Hudson River, and to her left, the Statue of Liberty stood tall and proud in the distance. The sight took her breath away. She’d lived in New York City for four months, and up until now, hadn’t had the pleasure of seeing Lady Liberty on anything but a postcard. “We’re not in Kansas anymore Toto. Manhattan maybe, but definitely not Kansas.” Stepping to the first of three doors, she grasped the handle and took a deep breath. “Let’s see what’s behind door number one.”

It swung open, silent on well-oiled hinges, to reveal a fully stocked library. Rows upon rows of books lined the shelves. A neat little seating area was set up in a corner by another large window.

How long had she been sleeping? A small distressed moan rose from her throat when she found her wrist naked. The battery in her watch had died and she hadn’t replaced it yet.
Shit.
Closing her eyes, she took a couple of long, steadying breaths, before returning to the bedroom. Unless that thing at her apartment had destroyed it, her watch would still be sitting on her bathroom vanity, along with one of the few things in the whole world that mattered to her, her necklace.
Shit, shit, shit.
What had she been thinking? She never took it off—ever.

The clock on one of the nightstands showed it was just before ten. Wow, she really had been tired. She never slept in so late.

It had to have been after midnight by the time she had left the Hospice last night. She didn’t remember anything after climbing the fire escape—nothing. How had she gotten here? Maybe she was losing it. Maybe this was just one of her weird Mr. Hottie dreams, and she’d wake up soon. Would Drake mind if she kept calling him Mr. Hottie? She snickered to herself. Where was he, anyway?

The second door led to a bathroom so big she could fit her entire apartment inside.

“Drake?” She waited for his response, but when she didn’t get one, she tried again, this time, using her mind.

She concentrated on the image of his face, the depth of his eyes. “
Drake?”

“Yes?”
His voice sounded drowsy and oh-so sexy as it slid into her mind.

“Where am I, and where are you? You’re not standing here staring at me are you?”
She tried to find anything out of the ordinary in the room, anything off, but came back empty.

Deep, masculine laughter drifted to her from another room, followed by a short one-two knock at the third door.

Her heart sped as she turned towards the sound. “Come in.”

His hair was sticking up and his eyes were still half-asleep when he entered. The t-shirt she’d admired yesterday was wrinkled but still hugged his torso. He’d left the top button of his jeans undone, letting them hang at his hips. She could get used to waking up to all that male yumminess in the morning.

“Good morning, Rhiannon. To answer your question, no, I wasn’t standing there staring at you.” His broad grin made her heart do another little flip.

She couldn’t help but smile at him. “Good morning. So, where are we? How did we get here? The last thing I remember is being chased by that rabid, flea-infested Sasquatch.”

A guilty expression crossed his features before he straightened his shoulders and met her gaze head-on. “We’re in an apartment we’ve secured to use when we’re in this city. I used our combined energies to get us from your apartment to here. Neither of us was at full strength and I needed to get us out of there fast. I’d normally ask for permission first but, considering the circumstances, I decided to get us out of there and explain later. That’s why you dozed off, so to speak.”

Her laughter echoed in the room. “You did what? You beamed me up? I don’t understand. And for future reference, feel free to beam me up any time Cujo threatens us. I’d rather take a nap than be turned into Puppy Chow.”

“Both your psychic and physical power were depleted, by me.” His gaze didn’t waver. “I don’t know who this Cujo is, but if anything or anyone comes near, I will defend you with my life. You have my word. Neither he, nor any other, will be able to come near your life essence while blood still flows in my veins and breath still fills my lungs.”

Her eyebrows shot up. She waited for the humor to shine in his eyes, for his smile to tell her he was joking, but it didn’t appear. The protective energy pouring toward her was unmistakable.

“Drake, Cujo was a fictional beast in a movie in the early eighties. It was a rabid dog that went nuts and wreaked havoc on everyone. It’s not an actual person. I was talking about the creature at my apartment. What are those things anyway?”

“That beast, my Queen, was an Erritrol.”

Her gasp sounded loud in the quiet room. Had she heard him right?

She shook her head. “Whoa. Hold the bus. What did you just call me?” Her voice rose with every word.

Okay, maybe she wasn’t the crazy one after all. What did she know about him? Almost nothing. And what she did know was what he himself had told her.

He closed his eyes for a second before answering. “I called you my Queen, Queen Rhiannon. It is the title befitting your post.”

Her heart began to race. Her eyes darted past him to the door leading to the rest of the apartment. “Okay, enough is enough.”

“I would have told you more yesterday but we were interrupted when the Erritrol returned, and we’ve not had a chance to speak since.”

She took a small step to get around him, gauging his reaction. “I—I’m going to go now. I know you believe what you’re telling me, but I’m not a queen. I’m just not. You’ve got the wrong person.”

His arms remained relaxed at his sides. “It’s not safe for you to leave. I swear I tell the truth. It is both my duty, and my privilege to protect you. Your brothers would peel the very flesh from my bones if I let any harm come to you.”

She took another step closer to the door. “This is crazy. Why am I even listening to this?” Why did the gorgeous ones have to be crazy?

“You listen because deep down, you know the truth. You’re not like these people, and you never will be, because you’re Avalorian, not human.”

If he thought she was the queen of his people, then at least she should be safe for the time being, besides, he’d saved her from the monster yesterday. If he’d wanted to hurt her, he wouldn’t have done that, would he? “I’ll tell you what, I’ll listen to what you have to say, but if I don’t buy into it, then you’ll let me go. I mean it, you won’t follow me, and you won’t get in my way.” She didn’t wait for a response as she walked past him, allowing plenty of room between them in case she had to make a run for it.

Elbows on his knees, Drake fought the urge to roll his eyes as he sat in the leather chair watching Rhiannon’s every move. The tall windows at the end of the living room made her look ethereal, her colors glowing in the natural light as she turned and walked toward him again.

“Okay, let me get this straight.”

He stifled a groan. Did they have to review all this again? Perhaps the third time would be the last. He sure as hell hoped so. They didn’t have time to sit and go over it all day. There was an Erritrol on the loose, it was undoubtedly in a rage, and it was coming after them. It needed to be stopped, but until she was satisfied with his explanations, he didn’t dare leave her alone.

“So, correct me if I get
any
of this wrong, but
you
believe,” Her voice was incredulous. “I’m the lost Queen of Avalore. You believe my mother, who wasn’t really my mother, took me away from there when my
real
mother was murdered by those beasts on the day I was born?”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Yes, Queen Rhiannon. This is what I believe.”

“You think by taking me back to Avalore, I’ll somehow be able to save your entire species from extinction.” She stopped pacing in front of him to look at him again. “And I’m the only one who can do this. No one else can save the people of Avalore?” She rolled her eyes as she resumed her pacing.

“
Our
people, and yes, that’s correct.”

Deep down, she knew the truth. He was sure of it. The way hope shone in her eyes one second, and replaced by fear the next, told him as much. He just had to be patient and let her come to terms with it on her own.

“This is nuts, Drake, it really is.” She rolled her shoulders several times, stretching her neck from side to side.

“I know it sounds ludicrous, but I assure you, I tell the truth.”

If he were to believe the intelligence in her eyes, she should have figured it out by now. Maybe she needed a nudge in the right direction. He sure as hell didn’t want to go through the whole conversation a fourth time.

“Let me ask you this, Queen Rhiannon. How many humans do you know who can talk to you this way? How do you explain the energy manipulation and the fact I can heal, just as you can?”

She needed to come to grips with this. He didn’t want to have to force her back to Avalore, but he’d do what needed to be done if she didn’t make the right decision.

“
I don’t know. Cut me some slack, okay? It’s not every day a girl gets told she’s not human.”

Her sharp tone had him grinning. “
I suppose you’re right.”
He could almost see the gears turning in her mind. She was putting things together and what she found frightened her. He could understand that. She brought her hand up to her slender neck, before dropping it again with a lost look in her eyes.

“Tell me about the beasts. What are they?”

She was stalling, but if she needed time to process all the information he’d given her, he’d play along. “The creature you saw last night was an Erritrol, my queen.”

“Please.” Her eyes grew wide. “Please stop using the Q word. My heart feels like it’s going to explode right out of my chest each time you do.” At long last, she stopped pacing and dropped into the chair facing his.

If not saying the words would make it easier for her to accept, then so be it.

“The Erritrol is a creature of the dark lands which separates this human world from ours.” He leaned forward, letting his elbows rest on his knees. “Some breeds can coexist with other species, and only attack when provoked, though we’ve not seen one of those in many, many years. Those we face are not so docile.”

He didn’t want to frighten her more than she already was, but she needed to know about the dangers they faced. There was no way they would make it across the dark lands and not come face to face with them, and he needed to know she could handle it when they did.

“I’ve seen them. I know what they’re capable of.” She lifted her chin a degree higher.

“There are three different generations, the Erritrol, the Ikabrol and the Ekasibe. The one we fought in the street near your home was a lesser Erritrol. I will be forever grateful an Ekasibe wasn’t the one to find you.” He shuddered at the memory of the beast attacking her.

She nodded, as if processing the information he’d given her and filing it in her mind.

“The beast that manifested in your apartment was an Ikabrol, an ancient Erritrol warrior. They’re much more experienced in battle and more difficult to defeat.”

Difficult, not impossible. He’d kill every last one of the bastards himself if they dared come near her. “The way to tell them apart from the Erritrol is by the color of their fur. The Ikabrol have a lighter ring around their necks, wrists and ankles.”

Her whole body stiffened and her eyes sought his. “I didn’t get a good look at it, did it have a mane? Kind of like a horse, only maybe a little shorter?”

His breath caught in his lungs and his heart pounded in his chest. Surely she hadn’t had an encounter with an Ekasibe. “No, it didn’t. Have you ever seen one like that?”

“Four years ago.” Her voice sounded strangled. “It was right after we moved to Los Angeles. We came home from work one day to find our apartment trashed. The next morning, mom stayed home to allow the locksmith in to change the locks. We thought we’d just been robbed by some punks. It was a pretty rough neighborhood.”