Haunted By Her Dragon (The Dragon Guard Series) (19 page)

Knowing that the old man had everything
covered, he sped towards Sam’s house, wishing he could call forth his dragon and
take to the skies; the suspense was killing him. What the hell had Andrew done
now?

Perched high in the mountains, he paused in his search, trying
to determine which trail was the real one. All
the misdirects
were really pissing him off, but it was also what he expected. After all, she
was the best magic practitioner he had ever seen. Because of all Kyra’s
misdirects, he had almost been spotted by the
werepanthers
that were stationed in the woods between Dr. Malone’s cottage and the Black
Lake. As if that wasn’t enough, it was the King of all the cats that had padded
in his direction. Did they actually think he was stupid enough to believe she would
be there after all the chaos he had caused not more than twelve hours ago? His
returning dragon senses told him they were still in the city. He was sure they
were at his
brother’s
home, the brother that had left him for dead. Good
thing the son of a bitch had married well because that place was a fortress;
stone walls and all. There would come a day when he would march in and take his
brother’s head, but at this point he was not prepared to penetrate the grounds.
Not until he was full to overflowing with black magic, and armed with a
shitload of Kyra’s amazing amulets.

When he had returned to his hideout after his
fun at the hospital, John and the others were waiting with several new
recruits, one of which was able to perform several rituals that had raised his
level of black magic. The young wizard had also been able to
scry
for the witch. That had lead Andrew to the same
mountains he had followed her to before. She had to have a hideout somewhere in
the rock formation, and he damn well intended to find it. He had no intention
of hurting her. He just needed more of her amulets. Of course, if she required
a little extra
persuasion
, he would do it. Her amulets were the key to
the success of his plan, and time was running out. Both of his
brothers
,
as well as all of the ones he used to call brethren, were within his reach, and
he was not about to let them get away. Then he remembered that the Commander
had not made an appearance yet.

Wondering what it would take to get Rayne to
leave his mate and child, he almost missed the sound of a motorcycle stopping
in front of Sam’s home. It could only be one person, the mate of the lovely
doctor. An idea began to form in his demented mind, one that made his heart
race, and an evil smile to grace his lips. All it would take would be one text
message to John, and he could kill two birds with one stone; not exactly kill,
but definitely use as bait. All he needed to do was get close to see what was
going on with the idiots on the ground, and his best idea yet would be a go.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The entire ride he had thought of Sam. The images of her in
the throes of passion would not stop the continual loop through his mind. All
he thought about was containing whatever catastrophe Andrew had caused and
getting back to her as quickly as possible. Preferably, before she left the
comfort of the king size bed he had left her naked and sleeping in when Max had
called.

He caught sight of a large black panther
slinking through the darkness as he entered the woods at the rear of Sam’s house.
Magic touched his skin, and from one breath to the next the deadly predator
transformed into the King of the Big Cats. Max walked the last few steps
towards him in a pair of faded jeans, and for the first time the Leo did not
possess his trademark smug grin. “What’s up, Max,” Lance asked, now sure that
all hell was about to break loose from the look on the other man’s face.

“Follow me. I want to show you what we found.”
Max turned without waiting for a response, heading towards the scent of fresh
water.

In just a few strides he was side by side with
the King. The silence was almost deafening. None of the usual sounds that he
associated with the woods were present. It was as if everything living had
vacated the premises. Then the stench of black magic smacked his senses. It was
pungent, and if he wasn’t mistaken had the tinge of death about it. His
enhanced vision confirmed what his nose had already told him; something had
been chased, and died not far from where he stood, and huge quantities of black
magic had been involved. There were scorch marks, and dead vegetation
everywhere he looked, and the sound of a stream, full from the recent rains,
loud enough that he knew it was just over the ridge.

Max stopped dead and pointed. There, not a hundred
feet from where they stood, sat a pile of burned animal carcasses lying in the
center of a pentagram, large rocks sitting on each of the five points. Melted
black wax staining four of the stones, and white covered the stone sitting atop
the demonic symbol. He walked closer, and his dragon roared in his mind. The
senseless loss of life was something they both found absolutely unforgivable.
For his beast it was something infinitely more personal. The massive warrior
whose heart and soul resided within him was of the earth, an elemental, and the
senseless death of those precious creatures touched something deep inside him.

 “You okay, man,” Max asked, sounding like
he was miles away instead of a few feet.

Time slowed as his dragon pushed, and continued
to roar, demanding justice. Lance breathed deeply, and consoled his beast the
only way he knew how, by telling him that the day would come when they would
catch the one responsible and make him pay for his crimes. Slowly both beings
calmed, and he answered the King through gritted teeth, “Yeah, I’m good. The
big guy,” he patted his chest to indicate the dragon within, “had a moment over
that,” he pointed to the pile of dead animals.

“Yes, our cats were not pleased, to say the
least,” Max responded.

“I don’t smell Andrew near this abomination,”
Lance growled, looking for any piece of ground that did not bear the mark of
the dark ritual that had been performed.

“You are right. His scent is not here. I’ll
show you where he has been in a moment, but there is a scent that you should
remember.”

Lance centered himself and sifted through all
the scents that continued to assault his enhanced senses, and one he had hoped
to
never
smell again became clear. Mixed in with the various wizards and
a few hunters, he could make out the unmistakable scent of at least two of the
men that had protected ‘The Auctioneer’ that day at the abandoned warehouse.
“What the fuck are wizards, hunters, and henchmen for the human criminal doing
in the same place, performing death magic?” Lance spoke more to himself than
Max.

He walked the perimeter of the ceremonial
space, close enough to see that ten animals of various sizes and species had
been murdered. From the look of it, the ritual had taken place while they were
all otherwise occupied with Andrew’s bullshit. It only stood to reason that he
had somehow been involved. It was right up the little fucker’s alley, but
something still didn’t make sense.

“You know what I can’t figure out, Max? Why was
Andrew not here? He’s a selfish little asshole. There’s no way in hell he would
miss the opportunity to be part of a ritual of this magnitude. It was obvious
at the hospital that he is running low on dirty magic. So what gives?”

“What Juan Carlos and I have been able to piece
together tells me Andrew is not with this group, at least not at the moment.
Follow me. I’ll show what we found of
your traitor
.” 

Used to having everyone follow his every
command, Max had already turned, and was heading towards whatever they had
found of Andrew. Lance chuckled as he jogged to catch up. “You know, you could
wait for a guy to at least answer before taking off there,
King
?”

“I am not accustomed to waiting,
Dragon
,
keep up or get left behind,” Max teased with his patented ‘cat that ate the
canary’ grin firmly in place.

“Oh, I’ll keep up. Don’t you worry…
”
His next words were cut off by the hiss of a large cat
from overhead. The cat landed firmly on the foliage covered ground, only a few
feet from him, teeth bared, head lowered in what Lance could only assume meant
he was pissed. Max laughed at his side, “Juan Carlos takes your comments as a
form of disrespect.” Then to his lieutenant, still in cat form he said, “Stand
down old friend, our Guardsman here thinks he is funny. He meant no
disrespect.”

“You know Max, your boy there really needs to
lighten up,” Lance chuckled but kept one eye on the panther. It wouldn’t do to
have Sam see him all torn from a fight with a big cat. Especially since she
didn’t know they existed.

“As I have told you before, Juan Carlos does
not
chill out,
but I can assure you he is only trying to intimidate
you,” the big cat growled low in his throat but let them pass, and followed as
they headed towards the base of the mountains.

“This way,” Max pointed to a trail that had
been carved out from repetitive use. Max’s tone had become hushed, and more
intense. Before he could ask what was up, the King stopped, “Here is where the
traitor’s trail becomes very distinct. It is my belief that he is searching for
‘something’ or ‘
someone
’. As we moved farther up the mountain there were
definitely signs of residual white magic and if I am not mistaken, which I
rarely am,” the Leo looked back at Lance, and winked, always the consummate
asshole, but apparently trying to ease some of the growing tension, “It is the
same white magic yet
unbastardized
by black magic
that we felt in the woods when we chased Andrew, and rescued Aidan’s mate. The
magic practitioner that was here is at least a close relative, but more likely
the same witch that created those blasted amulets. And it is she that the
traitor is looking for.”

“That explains a lot. When I flew over this
area the other night…” before he could finish Juan Carlos, still in cat form,
growled. “Yeah, yeah, yeah I know you didn’t approve.” Lance shook his head at
the panther. “Any way, there were a few times I felt the presence of white
magic. That must have been her then too.’ He smiled, “Well, it looks like the
stupid fuck-up is having a bad run with his motley crew,” Lance joked. “The
wizards are performing rituals without him, and his little witch is hiding from
him. He never did play well with others.”

“It would seem you are right, and he appears to
be part cat,” Max curled his lip in disgust, “since I am sure dragons do not
have nine lives.” Lance laughed out loud and the Leo continued, “I am really
looking forward to ending any he may have left,” the King almost growled. It
was the closest Lance had ever seen the leader of the Big Cats come to a show
of real anger. Max was always calm, cool, and collected, even when they were in
the middle of battle. It truly was time to catch his ass, and make him pay for
all he had done.

“How far up did his scent go?” Lance asked as
he used his enhanced sight to catch any signs of Andrew’s trail.

“It stopped at the second rise, and started
around towards the back. It is spotty and the stench of black magic is all
around. He has recharged since the hospital, and is using it to lay false
trails as much as possible.” Max stopped, and Lance could almost see the wheels
turning in his head.

When the King spoke again, his tone was low and
ominous, “He will not give up. The white
witch
is
important to him, but she is in her element here and able, at least for the
time being, to stay ahead of him. Follow me.”

Both men turned, and walked back through woods.
Neither spoke until they reached Sam’s backyard. “I will have members of my
pride come clear away the ritual site and show proper respect to the animals
that gave their lives.” His tone became little more than a whisper, “Round up
your Force and meet us back here tonight. If we find the witch, I am confident
she can help us find the traitor.”

Unable to help himself, Lance saluted, and the
low growl that came from behind them let him know he had once again offended
Juan Carlos. Max chuckled, at least the King had a sense of humor, even though
he spoke in such proper English and with a slight Latin accent that he sounded
like he belonged in one of the mafia movies the younger Guardsmen were so fond
of. “You got it Max. I’ll round up the troops and we’ll see you back here
tonight.”

He turned to wave goodbye, and all he saw was
the tail end of a very large black panther making his way into the woods. If
the sun hadn’t almost been up, he wasn’t sure he would have seen him without
his enhanced vision.
Max really needed a course in etiquette
, he thought
to himself, but he sure as hell was not the one to give it to him.

In no time at all he was back on his Harley,
and speeding towards Sam, hoping she was still naked in bed; he had plans for
an amazing wake up call.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Well, at least he had confirmation that Kyra was hiding in
the very mountains he was searching, but he was pissed that Master Eaton and
some of his remaining followers had hooked up with hunters, and were performing
rituals so close to his hideout. Worst of all, they hadn’t reached out to him.
He was sure no one was aware of the little coven he was acquiring with all the
rogues, and he and the Master had left things on good terms as they had both
run for cover when the shit hit the fan at the abandoned warehouse, so why had
the wizard leader not reached out to him? Luckily he had learned that a ritual
could be performed using animals, but he still had to wonder if the presence of
the humans that worked for ‘The Auctioneer’ meant they were still trying to
grab human women for a Grand Power Ritual.