Dragon Guard: Book 1: Prophecy of the Dragons (9 page)

"What? No, you can't. I …"

Andi's parents both clutched their temples. Their telepathic conversation lasted a few seconds, and then they shook their heads. The looks they gave Ben and Andi proved there would be no bindings tonight. Now that it was decided, Ben wasn't sure if he was happy or not.

"Okay," Mrs. Thomas said. She reached out, grabbed Andi's hand, and pulled her to the kitchen. He thought he heard her say something about a mother-daughter talk.

Mr. Thomas let out a sigh. "I'd better patch up the door."

"Uh, do you want me to help?" Ben didn't know where the question came from, but he figured it would be best asked.

Mr. Thomas gave him a hard look before his expression softened. "No, but thank you, Ben. Not just for the offer, but for getting rid of those things. They could have entered undetected if you didn't sense them."

He nodded. "Yeah, they don't need to be invited in. Those myths aren't true."

"Indeed." Mr. Thomas smiled and slapped his shoulder. "I do like you, Ben, though I'm sure it doesn't show. You'll make a good addition to our family, but not yet."

"We're too young," Ben said.

"Exactly, but that's not all." He glanced over to the kitchen. "I'm sure her mother is filling Andi in on most everything, so you can ask her about it later. I do have a good reason for not binding you tonight, I promise. Nothing personal, okay?"

Ben nodded and looked towards the kitchen. Andi was learning something surprising, but he had no idea what. He wanted to ask more, but he also didn't want to ruin this new-found common ground with Mr. Thomas, who'd already stood to start fixing the sliding glass door.

"Head up to bed, Ben. You might not feel it at the moment, but you're exhausted. You discovered quite a bit of power tonight, and you're not used to using it. You'll need even more tomorrow if we're to succeed."

Ben moved towards the stairs. Would his parents be home safe by this time tomorrow? He hoped so. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas would see to it. And Mr. Thomas was right about how tired he was. The second his head hit the pillow, sleep dragged him under.

During breakfast, Andi acted a bit shy around Ben. It must have had to do with the talk with her mom last night. It didn't bother him; it was cute. Besides, her true feelings for him shone through more clearly than anything else.

Once they finished eating another big meal of pancakes, eggs, and bacon – "I cook other things, too," Mrs. Thomas said about the repeat from yesterday morning, "but everyone enjoyed this so much." – it was time. Ben strapped on his shield and held his sword. Mr. Thomas explained they only needed to concentrate on the spell while he invoked it. Ben's eyes went wide. He still couldn't feel the spell. How could he concentrate on it?

Andi stepped forward. She threw a withering glance at her father and said, "Chill out, Daddy, this is necessary." Mrs. Thomas laughed as Andi engulfed Ben in a hug. He looked to Mr. Thomas with wide eyes, hoping he wouldn't step over and rip his head off. Instead, he got an annoyed but accepting look. Mrs. Thomas winked at Ben and turned her husband away.

"Do you trust me?" Andi whispered in his ear.

"Yes, of course."

She reached up and kissed him. "Good. You saw the place where your parents are. Picture it in your mind. Not just the room they're being held in, but the whole big rock. Keep it in mind when my dad says to, and you'll be fine. Okay?"

"Okay."

She smiled and gave him another kiss, a deeper one.

"Overkill, Alexandria," her mother said. Andi didn't jump away like normal when they'd been caught kissing, but instead slowly peeled herself away and brushed his cheek with her hand. Like at breakfast, good feelings flowed from her, but she also put out a bit of fear and regret. What was that about?

Before he could dwell on it, or ask her point-blank, it was time. "Concentrate," Mr. Thomas said. Ben pictured the demon realm, from the cell his parents inhabited, to the rocky throne the necromancer sat in, to all of the nothing in between. The atmosphere in the room grew thick, and then disappeared altogether. Ben found himself somewhere new, breathing air with a slight sulfur tinge he remembered from a trip to the geysers of Yellowstone Park when he was eight.

This reminded him of his vision. Exactly. They stood on the ground in front of the ledge that held the necromancer's throne. The dirt underfoot felt solid, baked hard by the fire surrounding them. They were far enough away from the edge to not fry, but the heat still brought drops of sweat to his brow. A nearby hole in the dirt showed it went down about six feet before hitting the rock, with the top layer of dirt baked solid. The rest was damp, though not quite mud.

Andi gripped his arm, and they shared a look. Where was the necromancer? He wasn't in his throne, and there was nowhere else to hide. Unless he was in torturing his parents. Ben needed to get them out. After only a minute here himself, he wanted to puke from the awful taste in his mouth.

"Those are the cells, Ben?" Mrs. Thomas asked, pointing to the rocky rooms. When he nodded, she said, "Maybe we can spirit them out of here before Derian notices."

"I'm sure they would appreciate it," a voice from the no longer empty throne said. Ben recognized it at once as that of the necromancer.

"They have nothing to do with this, Derian," Mr. Thomas said. He kept his voice low, but its power still reverberated through the realm. "Let them go."

Ben stepped forward and pointed his sword at the necromancer. "You better not have hurt them." Andi grabbed him and tried to pull him back, but he wouldn't be budged until he knew they were okay.

The necromancer laughed, a sound where humor went to die. Death itself. "I assure you they're fine, boy. A bit uncomfortable, but nothing rest and hydration in your mortal realm won't cure. In fact, you and the daughter are free to liberate them. It seems I have my prize." He licked his lips and stared down at Mr. and Mrs. Thomas.

Mr. Thomas grabbed Ben's shoulders and dragged him back. "Your prize, Derian? We defeated you once, and we'll do so again."

The necromancer leaned back in his throne and let out a belly laugh. His skin stretched against his bones, making him look like nothing but a skin-wrapped skeleton. And maybe that's all he was. Something moved underneath his stretched out skin. Ben couldn't make out any definite shapes. It reminded him of sea creature movies where the beast would brush the surface, letting the audience know it was there without giving up its true appearance.

"You caught me by surprise before, Leon," the necromancer said. "We seem to be on even ground this time, so to speak. Plus, I now control the demon." He held out his hand, and a puff of acidic smoke popped from his palm, revealing a monstrous head. He clutched his hand into a fist, and the demon dissipated.

Ben glanced over at Andi. Her mother whispered something into her ear. She nodded, her eyes wide, and fear, but also determination, gushed off her. She stepped over to Ben and pulled him close so she could whisper.

"If it comes to a fight, you stay behind me and watch our backs. Don't be reckless. When Mom says so, grab me, and I'll fly us to your parents. We'll get them out of here, and my parents will follow. Okay?"

He nodded. In the background, Mr. Thomas and the necromancer postured with more threats. A quick glance around showed nothing else on this huge rock, so how would the necromancer fight all four of them at once?

"And Ben?" Andi said, pulling him into a hug.

"Yeah?"

"Don't do anything stupid, and I won't either. Okay? I love you."

He gasped, getting more of the sulfurous air into his lungs, and fought hard to keep from choking. He knew she loved him, could and had felt it on her, but this was the first time she'd said it. He also couldn't fight the feeling. As scary as it was, he loved her, too. Before he could say it, his whole body shook in the prickling warning of impending evil.

"Watch out," he managed to shout. Mrs. Thomas crouched down in a battle pose, while Andi and Mr. Thomas transformed into their natural dragon forms. The ground crackled and shook like an earthquake, and zombies pushed out of the hardened dirt all around them.

This battle went nothing like the previous ones. During those, Ben felt in control, not really in danger. This was absolute chaos. Too many zombies came at him at once. He swung his shield as much as his sword, keeping the lumbering monsters off-balance and at bay. He didn't knock many out of commission, but Andi and her parents made up for that. The dragons spit out streams of acid that burned the zombies down to nothing, and while they waited for their breath weapon to build back up, their powerful jaws and claws dispatched more. Mrs. Thomas was a blur, a shifting shadow of death. She leaped, twirled, and struck, leaving severed bodies in her wake. Ben did his best to stay out of their way and keep any from sneaking up on Andi.

For the first time, he wished 100 percent that they'd been bound. Power bubbled under the surface, but he couldn't access it. He grit his teeth and fought through the aggravation. It also would have been nice to speak to Andi directly. He yelled a few warnings to watch behind her when he couldn't cut off a zombie, and she understood, but having no idea what her growls meant frustrated him. Mrs. Thomas would relay her important messages via Mr. Thomas, but that wasn't how dragons and their guards fought.

After what seemed like hours but was probably a lot less, Mrs. Thomas yelled for Ben to grab Andi and hold on. They were no closer to defeating the countless zombies, so he realized it was time to rescue his parents. He beheaded two of the nearby undead and sheathed his sword before latching onto her tail. She let loose another blast of acid to clear their way and launched into the air. Ben glanced back; none of the undead chased them. The unholy music of the necromancer's laugh continued in the background. Would he really let them leave?

Andi touched down in front of the rocky cells, and Ben drew his sword. A half-dozen zombies stepped out to greet them, but Ben wouldn't let them stop him from rescuing his mom and dad. He smashed the first with his shield, knocking it back against another, and slashed two other heads off. Urgent energy pulsed off Andi, but he ignored it, instead launching himself in the middle of the four remaining zombies. He gave into the battle lust like he'd never done before. His sword struck true, and his shield parried possible killing blows. Before long, all six zombies lay unmoving at his feet.

Andi used her tail to nudge him out of the way before letting loose a blast of acid that melted the zombie parts into nothing. She morphed back into her human form and threw herself into his arms. "Don't do that! I could have burned them at the very beginning."

He wanted to explain that he couldn't help it, that it just happened, but instead his brain pushed, "I love you," out of his mouth. Whoa, he must really have meant to say it earlier.

She giggled, kissed him, and grabbed his elbow. "Come on. Let's get them out of here."

To their surprise, the solid stone door opened with little pressure. He dashed inside and let out a cry. Mom and Dad were mummies. Not wrapped in linens like ancient Egyptian pharaohs, but dry skin and bones. Only when Dad moved his head and let out a groan did Ben breathe again.

"Grab him," Andi said as she ran over to his mom. "We have to get them home. They'll be fine. Think about your parents' bedroom, and we'll go right there. Ready?"

Ben knelt next to Dad and mimed Andi's actions of wrapping his arms around him. He brought up a clear picture of their room and yelled, "Go!"

Seconds later, he, Andi, and his emaciated parents lay in the middle of the bedroom. "Grab some food and water," Andi said. "I'll get them as comfortable as I can."

Andi mopped a bit of sweat off Mrs. Phillips's brow. Both she and Mr. Phillips looked much better every half-hour or so. Andi and Ben started slowly, giving them small drinks of water until they didn't look as dry as paper, and then added juice, chicken broth, and finally solid foods. It took almost six hours of slow, constant gorging, but now both appeared human again. Still pale and gaunt, but overall okay. Through it all, they faded in and out of consciousness. Neither said a word, but after the first couple of hours, Andi could see in their eyes that they knew where they were, and at least some of what was going on.

Another strange phenomenon she noticed was a blue light, like an aura, leaking off Ben. She didn't see it all the time, and then only out of the corner of her eye, but she had no doubt that the power helped accelerate the healing process. Would it be even stronger when they were fully bound? When she questioned him about it, he had no clue what she was talking about.

Finally, Mr. and Mrs. Phillips drifted off to sleep. She and Ben picked up the various cups and plates stacked around the bed and carried them to the kitchen. They'd done a pretty good job of cleaning as they went, so now they needed only to load the dishwasher. Ben didn't want to start it in case it woke his parents.

Once they finished cleaning, it hit Andi that her parents were still trapped in the necromancer's evil realm. All hopes of them being able to get back had faded. They'd have been here by now. They must've all had to leave at the same time, so when she and Ben had left, it locked them there.

Ben stepped over and engulfed her in a hug. "We'll save them," he said between butterfly kisses on the top of her head. She buried her face into his chest and let a few tears fall. She was too tired to be strong, and to his credit, Ben understood and held her.

She dried her tears on his shirt, causing them both to laugh, and leaned up for a soft but passionate kiss. After a few minutes, they broke apart, and Ben sat at the kitchen table. Andi thought about sitting in another chair, but instead opted for his lap.

"I wonder how powerful that healing aura will be once we're bound," she said.

He shrugged. "I didn't feel anything. Are you sure you weren't seeing things? We're both pretty tired and under a ton of stress."

"That's the thing," she said, massaging his neck. "I wasn't that tired while we were feeding them. I think you helped all of us – them getting better, and us with the energy to keep tending them."

Ben slumped against her. "Doesn't seem to be working anymore."

"No, it doesn't." She slumped right back against him.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. He mulled over some thoughts, and she didn't want to interrupt. At least it kept her from falling asleep as they needed to check back in on his parents soon. When Ben broke the silence, his question didn't surprise her.

"What did your mom talk about with you last night? You know, after the vampires? Your dad wouldn't tell me. He said I should wait and ask you."

She climbed out of his lap and took a chair of her own, though she stayed close enough to keep holding his hand. "She told me some more about our binding. About why they didn't do it. Dad, of course, thinks we're too young."

"He said that last night." Ben turned to the kitchen window, and she followed his gaze. The sun wasn't yet up, but dawn was close. "Or two nights ago now, I guess. But he also promised me there was a better reason."

"Yeah. Turns out when you get bound, your feelings are hypersensitive towards each other. Like way more than what we felt with this minor thing."

"No way. That's kind of hard to imagine."

"I know, right? But I guess it's true. My parents were afraid we'd be so focused on each other that we'd ignore other dangers. We'd be reckless."

"But if we could talk telepathically, it would counteract that, wouldn't it? We'd work together even better."

"I said that, too, when I tried to get them to bind us. She said the vampires convinced her that Dad was making the right decision. You went after the one attacking me without ever checking the other. If it had somehow beaten them, it could have ambushed us." She paused, not sure how much more she should say, but decided she wouldn't keep any secrets from him. Besides, it wasn't like Mom told her very much anyway. "Something happened when my parents were bound. Something bad. I couldn't find out what, but I guess that's the biggest reason my dad is being so stubborn in all of this."

A mess of different emotions poured off Ben, so many that it was hard to piece them all together. She thought at first that he was mostly confused about the vampire sneaking up on them, or what happened to her parents, but that wasn't it.

"You tried to get them to bind us?"

Andi's face heated up. She had, hadn't she? It hadn't dawned on her until he said it point-blank. "Yeah, I guess I did."

"So you want to be bound to me? Right now?" His voice came out husky, like he had to fight to get them out. She could also tell he wanted to look down at the tabletop, but didn't. She made sure to hold eye contact, too.

"Yeah, kind of." Now her face felt like it was on fire, but she giggled a bit when she realized it wasn't any more red than his. He blushed so hard that he might burst into flames at any second. "Do you?"

He nodded and tugged her arm. She let him drag her back to his lap, and their lips met. Nothing existed but them at that moment. She didn't even worry about her parents for those few minutes.

When they broke their kiss, Ben swept her bangs from her eyes and said, "There's something else, isn't there?"

He was right, and she hadn't even thought about it until he brought it up. Wow, he already knew her so well; what would this be like when they were fully and truly bound? "When we're bound, we're totally bound. If one of us is killed, we both die."

"As if this weren't serious enough already," he said with a laugh.

"Really. Mom said that this way, if one of us did, uh, bite it, the other would still have a chance to rescue your parents."

"Makes sense, I guess." His face wasn't red anymore, but quite pale. They sat there, her in his lap, both lost in their own thoughts. She enjoyed him unconsciously tracing patterns on her knee with his fingertips. There was something personal, familiar, in that act, as if they'd been together much longer than just this week.

After a few minutes, he stopped and gave her a smirk.

"What?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking."

"That's a scary thought."

"Whatever. Anyway, I don't mean any disrespect or anything, but I can't believe I'm in love with a dragon. An actual dragon."

"Yeah, I feel the same way about you being human." They both laughed, her because she didn't mean that. Though she had no clue about Dragon Guards, she'd known from an early age she'd be marrying a human, not another dragon. That never happened, though she never asked why. Another thing in an endless list she'd taken at face value.

She didn't know how she managed, since she was already in his lap, but she pushed closer to him. Their lips again met, and this time, after another slow, tender build up, their passion ignited, and they kissed as if they were trying to devour each other's soul. In the moment, there was no doubt, if there ever was, that Ben was her one and only. This was the first time she'd ever felt truly alive as a human. The only thing better was screaming through the sky in her true form, and even that was debatable.

"Yeah, you two should probably stop now."

Andi squeaked and leapt from his lap. Even with her natural grace, Ben had to grab her elbow to keep her from tumbling to the ground, likely flat on her face. Ben's mom stood in the doorway. Like before she fell asleep, she still looked too pale and too thin, but otherwise fine. Andi was a bit relieved to see a look of humor hidden beneath her stern mothering glare.

Ben bounced to his feet. "Mom, you're okay!"

"I don't even get a clumsy teenage excuse for what I just walked in on? So your father and I can laugh about it later?"

"Uh …"

The hard gaze turned on Andi. With the fear coming from Ben, he'd obviously missed both her joking tone and the twinkle in her eye. Andi didn't. "We were practicing CPR?"

Mrs. Phillips let out a surprised laugh. "I used that one when I was your age." She stepped forward and engulfed Andi in a hug. "You must be Andi. Thank you so much for helping us." She grabbed Ben and pulled him into the embrace. "Both of you."

"Boy, that was some fever you two had," Andi said. His parents needed to know everything because of what she was, and especially because of what Ben was going to be, but this wasn't the time. Ben picked up on her plan quick.

"Yeah. You guys were sure muttering some weird things in your sleep."

Mrs. Phillips stared at them for a few seconds. "Dad and I talked about it before I got up." For some reason that brought out a spike of happiness from Ben, though he kept his expression neutral. "Not only did we share the same horrible experience, which is impossible, but we both saw what we looked like before you two rescued us. Being alive and that skinny isn't right, especially since we're almost back to normal now. I'm not sure how long we were out, but it wasn't the weeks it should have taken."

Andi started to say something to still spin it as a strange dream, but Ben cut her off. "But you feel okay now?"

Before she could answer, Ben's dad walked in. Like his wife, he was too pale and thin, but otherwise fine. "Hey, am I missing all the fun down here?"

Mrs. Phillips went to him and put one arm around his waist. There was no mistaking the happiness that came from Ben that time. "Just giving thanks to our saviors."

"I see. And this must be Andi. Nice to meet you when I'm more than half-coherent. Trent Phillips." He stuck out his hand, and she shook it.

"Hi, yeah, I'm Andi." She let out a surprised gasp when he pulled her over and gave her a hug.

"You, too, ya lug," he said to Ben. He came over, and all four of them shared a hug. Andi felt almost giddy with the amount of joy on Ben.

They broke apart, Mr. and Mrs. Phillips' arms around each other, while Ben's was draped over Andi's shoulders. "That was nice," Mrs. Phillips said. "I didn't think we'd ever be able to do that again."

"Yeah," Mr. Phillips said. "I thought we were goners for sure." With the look they shared, Andi wasn't sure if they were talking about being in the demon realm, their marriage in general, or both.

"Andi, dear," Mrs. Phillips said, "do your parents know you're here?"

Andi opened her mouth to answer when her world spun out of control. Tears overwhelmed her, and the more she fought to get herself under control, the worse she got. Somewhere through her haze, she heard Ben's parents asking her if she was okay, while Ben nudged her into a chair and held her. That, him, his closeness, got her through. When the crashing wave of sadness passed, leaving minor ripples, she whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," over and over, her head buried in Ben's neck so she wouldn't have to look at anyone. The embarrassment over having fallen apart in front of everyone now worse than the emotions of not knowing if her parents were okay or not. She wiped her eyes, took a deep breath, and mustered up a weak smile. "Sorry. I think I'm better now."

Ben kissed the top of her head, while both his parents answered that it was fine, quite understandable given the circumstances. Ben must've filled them in while she'd incapacitated herself.

Mrs. Phillips dried her cheeks with a tissue. "You're exhausted. Both of you. What day is it?"

"Wednesday morning," Ben said.

"Wednesday?" Mr. Phillips said. "Oh, jeez, work's going to be pissed."

"No, I called you both in," Ben said. "You have food poisoning."

"Well, if anyone notices I've lost weight, that'll be a good excuse," Mrs. Phillips said, poking her stomach.

"Good thinking, Ben," Mr. Phillips said. "I'll call later to see if I can get the rest of the week off."

"Me, too," Mrs. Phillips said. "But what about school? Neither of you would do much good today."

"My parents called us in Monday and Tuesday," Andi said. "So it shouldn't be a problem for you to do it."

His mom frowned. "I don't like you guys missing so many days. You need to go back. Tomorrow for sure. But for now, off to bed, both of you. Ben, show Andi the guest room. The linen on that bed is fresh enough." She looked at Andi. "Let me know if anything's wrong with it, okay, dear?"

She smiled and nodded.

"And Ben." Her stern mother look was back, but Andi had to bite back a laugh at the twinkle in her eye, just like when she'd first come in.

"Yeah?" With the apprehension coming from him, he obviously couldn't see it. They really must've been one messed up family before this.

"Show her the room and then go to your own. Got it?"

This time Andi couldn't hold back, though she did her best to wait until they were out of the kitchen to laugh. What made it even funnier was Mr. Phillips asking what that was all about, as well as the embarrassment from Ben. It turned to confusion at her laughter, but he didn't say anything, and she didn't explain. Let his mother have that power over him for a bit longer.