Destiny of Dragons (10 page)

The man frowned. His eyes shifted from side to side in a way that told Proteus even if he weren’t camouflaged the man wouldn’t be able to see him.

He was blind.

“I am Bai Long. I was once the white dragon king. Now I’m the emperor’s plaything. If you have any compassion you’ll kill me.”

Proteus wiped back a tear. “I’ve come to rescue my mate. I won’t leave you behind.”

Bai Long frowned. “How did you get in here?”

“I snuck in. I’m going to try and sneak back out. I have to tell the others to come inside.”

“Don’t. The emperor will kill you all. You have no idea of what he can do.”

“He trapped my mate in stone for centuries,” Proteus said. “I know what he can do.”

“Is he one of the dragons they just captured?”

“What do you know of it?” Proteus wondered.

“The guards were bragging how they brought two dragons down. They are quite proud of themselves.” Bai Long’s disdain came across in his soft-accented tones. “I wanted to rip out their throats, but as you can see I’m a bit restrained.”

“Why does he keep you like this?” Proteus looked around for something to break the shackles.

“Once I was a powerful shifter. Now I’m nothing. The emperor killed my mate. She was carrying my child at the time. While I was weakened he shackled me. He likes to bring me out to show the other dragons that if he can take me they have no hope. What it really means is I have no hope. When he tires of me he will kill me. I hope it will happen soon.”

“I need to get you out of here. Where are the keys?”

“The guards probably have them. It’s not like they announce it when they come. If you’re smart you’ll get out of here and not return. Once he gets hold of you, the emperor never lets go.”

Proteus ignored the white dragon’s excellent advice. He didn’t have time to wallow in his own misery.
“I found a white dragon.”
He waited a moment, but no one returned his conversation.

The silence frightened him. Where had everyone gone? The door swung open. Proteus spun around, careful not to make any noise. He might be able to muffle his footsteps, but if he knocked something over it would be heard.

“Who are you talking to, filthy dragon?” A uniformed guard asked.

Proteus recognized him as one of the men who’d been in the hall. The other guard stood behind him, peering inside the room. Moving closer to the wall Proteus tried to stay out of their range. Bumping into an invisible object caused alarm no matter how dimwitted the guards.

A feral light glowed in the guard’s eyes. He slid the slim wooden club out of its holster and slapped it against his hand. The dragon didn’t flinch. Proteus suspected it happened enough times Bai Long refused to give the guards the satisfaction of his fear.

“We don’t have permission to touch him right now,” The guard in the back said, his eyes darted around like a twitchy rodent seeking an escape route.

“You think the emperor is going to care? He’s already got himself a set of new dragons. This one will be disposable soon.”

“Maybe soon, but not right now. If he finds us overstepping he might use us as an example. You know how he is.” The frantic whisper from the ratlike guard must’ve sunken in. The first guard slipped his baton back in his belt.

“As soon as we get the go ahead, you’re mine.” His grin sent tendrils of ice down Proteus’s spine.

Maybe it was better that the white dragon couldn’t see. As the guard turned Proteus spotted a ring of keys. With a quick lunge he lifted them. Once Proteus touched them they vanished from sight. He held his breath and didn’t let it out until the guards left again.

“Are they gone?”

Proteus nodded then realized the dragon couldn’t hear him. “Yes. I got your keys.”

“Good. Unshackle me and I will help you save your mate.”

“I have to go tell Aden I found him. I was only supposed to sneak in and take a look around. I’m not supposed to go further. Liang, my mate, told me to leave. The only reason I came in here was to escape the guards.”

“If I leave it will set off the alarm. You go and get your friends. When you hear the sirens you’ll know I’ve begun my attack.”

“They will kill you. You can’t even see your attackers.” Proteus bit his lip. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

Bai Long snorted. “You think I’m unaware of my flaws? Before my capture I could see as well as anyone. The emperor blinded me to make me more biddable. I killed four of his guards before they were able to trap me. However, I am unable to fight him when he takes over my mind.”

“He can do that?”

“Sometimes.”

Proteus shuddered at the thought of someone invading his mind. It was hard enough to let his mate talk telepathically, the idea of anyone overcoming his will was the stuff of nightmares.

“Let me get you free.” Proteus tried a couple of keys before he found the correct one. He unsnapped them one after another, letting out a sigh when the last one broke free. “There.”

“Many thanks.” Bai Long stepped forward and would’ve fallen if Proteus hadn’t stepped forward to grab him.

“Easy, give your muscles time to settle. I don’t know how long you were shackled there.”

“Too long.” Bai Long muttered. “I’ve lost feeling in my feet.”

“Rest a minute then we have to go.”

Bai Long lifted one foot then the other, rolling his ankles and loosening his arms to try and encourage circulation. “I’m ready.”

Proteus guided Bai Long’s hand to his shoulder then turned, keeping it in place. “Hold onto my shoulder and I will lead you to the elevator.”

How the dragon thought he’d attack the others when he couldn’t leave the room on his own Proteus didn’t know.

“That’s not necessary.”

A low growl rolled through the room followed by the familiar crackle and pop of someone shifting. Fear had Proteus stepping away.

He spun around only to find a large white dragon sniffing the air behind him.

“You think to outsmart me! I am Huangdi and I’ve gone hungry for too long. You will make an excellent snack.”

“B-but I saved you.” Proteus tried to appeal to the white dragon, but he could see the emperor had taken over. The dragon’s pale eyes turned completely black and Proteus could tell Bai Long was no longer inside.

The dragon snorted, a bit of steam spurted from his nose. “
Do
you truly think the guards would leave a prisoner in an unmarked room? I knew someone would come for the others. He was to be bait. It looks like all I’ve caught is a wimpy little shifter with more compassion than sense, but you will lead the others inside my trap.”

“Are you truly blind?” Why he thought that was important at the moment Proteus couldn’t say, he just hoped their entire conversation hadn’t been a lie.

“Yes, I blinded him and killed his mate, she was an annoying bitch I’m better off without. Now that I’ve got the others Bai Long is disposable. He can be cannon fodder, but before he is I will finish you.”

“You’re crazy.” Probably not the best response, but Proteus couldn’t help the words from coming out.

The dragon snapped it’s huge teeth in Proteus’s direction.

Crap. Why was he standing there and arguing with a dragon? He had to escape. Turning his back on the beast was one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do, but he couldn’t chance stumbling if he ran backward.

The door hadn’t looked so far away when he’d entered the room. Now, with a feral dragon breathing down his neck it might as well have been on the other side of a football field. Bai Long’s breath filled with smoke and sulfur had Proteus choking.

Not daring to look back he fled to the exit. His fingers just touched the handle when sharp teeth latched onto his leg and Proteus went down. Frantic, he grabbed the whistle Aden had slipped over his neck and blew it with all the breath in his lungs. Would they hear him or were the walls too thick for the sound to escape?

Pain ripped through him. He watched, terror lodged in his throat as Bai Long crunched down and tossed back his head to swallow part of Proteus’s leg. Bile rose in his throat. Turning to one side he threw up everything he’d eaten that day.

He would die here in this dark, cold room, a product of being too trusting. He should’ve listened to everyone. He wasn’t enough of a hero to pull this shit off. Spots danced before his eyes.

“Sorry, Liang. I love you.”

A loud roar echoed in his ears, but it didn’t matter any more he couldn’t feel his body.

Liang heard Proteus’s goodbye and something inside him snapped free. His usual constraints vanished and the sedatives keeping him calm dissolved beneath the fury burning through his body. He shattered the shackles trapping him down and with a snap of his newly shifted mouth he ripped out the throat of the closest lab assistant.

“Easy, brother,”
Zhou said. His leader lay strapped to a gurney on the other side of the room. Tubes ran from his human form to the stands of liquid by his side.

“They killed my mate. I will destroy them all.”

For the first time in his long life, Liang lost total control of his magic. Reaching out he melted the snow above them and pulled. Water rushed through the walls and crumbled the foundation. They would die. All of them would die.

Stomping over he transformed into his human form to free his leader, careful of the needles stabbed into Zhou’s skin.

“
You need to calm down or you will kill us all,” Zhou ordered.

“What does it matter? My sweet sea dragon is dead!” Liang shouted.

Zhou froze. “You felt him die?”

Liang re-evaluated his exchange with Proteus. Searching, he sent out tendrils of consciousness throughout the facility. “He’s injured, not dead, yet.”

A loud explosion set the lights flickering. “I think our cavalry arrived,” Zhou said.

“Good, maybe they can help save Proteus. Let’s get above and find him.” Taking the elevator would be next to impossible in dragon form and Zhou was right, he had to keep a handle on his magic at least until they left. He poured more water into the foundation. Never would they be able to trap people here again.

“Do you think anyone else is here?” Zhou asked. “Other dragons?”

“Aden can free them. I’ve got to get to my mate.” Liang winced at the coldness of his tone, but in truth he cared not for anyone at this moment more than Proteus.

“Liang, I found Proteus, he’s in bad shape.”
Jiang’s voice yelling in his head had Liang hurrying up his steps.

“I’m coming.”

If he lost his mate the sea dragon wouldn’t go out alone. Aden would raise their sea dragon babies and the others would see to their care. Liang refused to let his mate go on without him.

Running to the elevator Liang rushed inside as soon as the doors opened and pushed the button. Zhou barely made it through the opening in time.

“You need to stop and think. If you run into a bunch of soldiers you’re going to get your fool ass shot up before you reach your mate.”

“I know. I know. I just need to get to him.” Liang hung on to his sanity by a single frayed thread. His dragon had a different plan that involved tearing down the world to save their mate. Sometimes dragons weren’t the sanest of shifters.

A low roar left his throat. The noise echoed in the small elevator space.

“Keep it together, Liang.” Zhou’s calm voice used to keep him from panicking. Not this time. Not when his mate might be bleeding out while the world’s slowest contraption carried them upward.

The elevator ding and the opening of doors barely finished before Liang raced into the corridor. No one stood in the hall. The silence, cold and eerie, filled the hall like a living presence as if waiting for the horror movie monster to make an appearance. Soft sobbing caught his attention.

Proteus.

“I hear him.” Liang ran down the hall toward the sound. A guard popped out of nowhere. Liang didn’t stop. He transformed one hand to claws and sliced through the man’s jugular without pausing. There would be no surrender or second chances, this just became the house of death. Any who stood against him would join their ancestors.

Finally he reached the door he knew Proteus lay behind. Ripping it open he ducked in time to avoid a stream of fire. He caught sight of the white dragon. Enough water had seeped into the building that Liang was able to pull it from the walls to douse the dragon.

“I will kill you along with your mate,”
the dragon shifter screamed.

Liang spotted Proteus on the floor, blood pouring out of the ruins of his leg. Jiang crouched beside him.

“Where are the others?”

“Fighting the guards, they sent me ahead,” Jiang shouted.

Jiang couldn’t transform into a dragon without letting go of the pressure on the tourniquet he’s made around Proteus’s leg.

Liang needed to end this before his mate died of blood loss. Fury transformed him into his dragon self. Without talk or warning, he pounced on the other dragon. In a flurry of claws and teeth the two beasts battled until the white dragon made the mistake of jumping at Liang. Ducking, Liang slid beneath the beast and ripped open his stomach. Blood poured over him like a raging flood.

Liang pushed the white dragon’s body off him and shook off the gore before spinning around to get to Proteus.

“His pulse is faint,” Zhou said, his fingers pressed to Proteus’s neck.

Liang changed back to human. “Let’s get him home.” Liang lifted his mate, the white dragon must’ve accidentally seared Proteus’s injury closed because although there was a bloody stump where his foot and lower half of right leg had been, he was alive and barely bleeding.

They ran into the others on the way back out. Body parts littered the yard like Halloween decorations gone overboard. Liang swallowed back the bile in his throat. If he made it through the day without losing the contents of his stomach he’d claim a silent, personal victory. He’d always had a weak stomach, which had brought him a great deal of mocking from his fellow warriors, but Liang would rather be sensitive than untouched by the horrors of war.

Gallen rushed toward them. “I’ve got a portal set up. One of the hawks has been to medical school, he can help you.”