Haunted By Her Dragon (The Dragon Guard Series) (25 page)

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, but this is fucking
frustrating.”

“No, shit, Sherlock.
You think you’re the only one bored shitless
and ready to catch that little asshole and be done with all of this fucking
waste of our time?”
Aidan
whispered, and Lance could feel his anger through their link.

“All right ladies, while y’all are having your
bitch session, something is happening about halfway up the mountain. How ‘bout
we all pay attention, and then we can handle our shit, and get the hell
outta
Dodge?”
Aaron said, trying to sound calm.

“I guess I’m not surprised he would hide on
higher ground after all the silver we found hidden everywhere they could hide
it on the ground.  I can still feel magic in the air, but I’ll be damned
if I can find where it’s coming from,”
Devon added.

“I’m trying to get a bead on the humans, but
they have the stench of black magic all over them, so I can’t be sure that what
I’m seeing is all there is,”
Royce mumbled, obviously thinking out loud.
“I’m almost
positive that at least five or six of the men with ‘The Auctioneer’ are actual
wizards. The black magic is just too strong for them to be anything else.”

“And there are seriously dense spots of the
noxious shit at the base of the mountain, and none of the human criminals or
those that came with them have made it that far, so I have to think Andrew has
some wizards with his nasty ass too.”
Devon confirmed what they were all thinking; Andrew and
‘The Auctioneer’ were not playing together in this sandbox. He hoped Rayne and
Royce had some kind of strategy planned to make this all work, because if they
left it up to him he would run screaming, broadsword drawn, slicing any and all
in his path in half. He was fucking sick and tired of all of it. It was time
for all of it to be over. Andrew needed to be caught and taken to the Elders
for the Tribunal or killed dead on the spot. Both worked for him. ‘The
Auctioneer’ needed to be caught, also, and made to rot in jail for the
atrocities he had inflicted on all those poor women. Secretly, Lance hoped for
about five minutes alone with the stupid son of a bitch for the crap Sam had
gone through all because of his filth and greed.

Lance remembered the pockets of white magic
he’d felt the night he’d flown over this very area. Figuring it was something
he was going to have to share. He took a deep breath, and went for it.
“I
was out here a few nights ago, and felt pockets of really strong white magic. I
was
gonna
come back and investigate, but shit came
up. I’m thinking we need to find that witch, maybe she can help.”

“She?”
Royce asked.

“Yeah, definitely a she, the magic was very
feminine,”
Lance
answered.

“Is it like what we can feel on the forest
floor?”
Aidan asked.

“Kind of, but don’t you guys feel like there is
something more added to what we can detect out here?”
Lance knew he wasn’t making much sense, but
they’d all known him long enough to decipher his gibberish.

Thank the Heavens Aaron had his back, and
jumped in before there were any questions he would rather not answer,
“Now
that I focus on it, I see what you mean. I pretty much didn’t bother with it
before because it’s white, but now I can tell there’s something else mixed with
it. Royce, Dude, you need to get your old senses over here and see what it is.”

“Okay Dickhead, me and my old senses will get
right over there,”
the oldest
of their Force grumbled.
“Y’all losers would be lost without me.”

“All right, let’s find out what’s going on. Max
and the other cats are going to work their way up the mountain, so we have a
few minutes,”
Rayne
stated, taking charge once again.

A few minutes seemed like several hours, but
Aaron finally spoke,
“The old man hates to admit it, but Lance is right. The
magic is female in origin, and hold onto to your hats sports’ fans, it seems it
has been contaminated with black magic that has a tinge of dragon in it. Sound
like anyone we know?”

“That fucking son of a bitch!”
Aidan snarled.
“And why the hell are you so perky about
this shit, Bro?”

“Because, Dude, he’s here, and we have a scent,
one he cannot fuck with. Lighten up a bit and think about it; we’re
gonna
get his pansy ass tonight
,” Aaron answered, and Lance could feel his
confidence. It seemed to reenergize all of them from the sound of it.

“Glad to see you guys finally decided to show
up,”
Rayne
barked.
“Now let’s spread out, and find that stupid bastard, and any person
stupid enough to follow him.”

In the slow, methodical formation they had been
using for over hundred years, the
MacLendon
Force
  began
creeping toward the base of the mountain,
senses wide open to detect any movement or traps. Devon was watching ‘The
Auctioneer’ and his men who seemed to be content with lying in wait, but the
problem was none of the Guard knew what they were waiting for. Lance guessed
they wanted Andrew, but how would that fucking loser
be
of any use to a thug that kidnapped and sold young women. Deciding he really
didn’t give a shit as long as they rounded them all up, he continued his trek
through the woods listening to the information his brethren were sharing.

He reached the opposite side of the mountain
from Royce and Aaron’s location, and started for the first path he saw.
“I’m
heading up the middle path,”
he said to anyone that was listening.

“Get the fuck down…”
was all Devon got out before all hell broke
loose. 

From the sheer pandemonium coming from where
‘The Auctioneer’ and his thugs were hiding, it appeared that someone had
prematurely fired a grenade launcher, causing a chain reaction of epic proportions.
Clods of dirt and pieces of trees were flying everywhere, and the continued
explosions were deafening, especially with his senses wide open. He immediately
shut down his enhanced hearing, and prayed the ringing in his ears would stop
sometime this millennium. Rayne directed them to continue their search for
Andrew. The traitor had been there, and they were all sure he still was, so
until he was tucked away in a cave somewhere in Outer Mongolia, or better yet
minus his head, he would continue to be their main focus. He was dragon, and
therefore knew too much to be allowed to continue his insane plan of vengeance.
Lance watched as some of the
werepanthers
jumped from
the trees, landing as men, and stalked the human criminals, hopefully to stop
the chaos. Sure that their allies could handle the idiots, he focused on his
side of the mountain while listening to the others report in.

Just a few hundred feet up, he began to sense
rather than see movement on his left. Signaling to the others of his Force, he got
as low to the ground as possible, looking for anywhere his six foot two inch
frame could take cover to get an estimate of how many combatants they needed to
neutralize. One bush in particular shook more and more as the blasts from below
them continued. He truly thought ‘The Auctioneer’ had a little better control
of his minions than what they were witnessing, but it would help get his ass
put away for his crimes, and give them something to joke about later.

Moving towards the shaking bush, he felt an especially
dense pocket of white magic farther up the mountain. In a snap decision, he
followed the trail hoping to find the witch. He pictured the spot he was sure
held many of Andrew’s followers, and sent it out to his brethren. The trail of
white magic grew stronger with each step, reaffirming his decision to
investigate. If Andrew had found the magic practitioner, which Lance was sure
he had. Then it only stood to reason that he wouldn’t leave her unguarded. And
being the paranoid asshole that he was, the traitor himself would be guarding
her, or at least close by. She was a powerful practitioner.
Her

 
magic
was leaking all over
the mountainside from her anger. If there was one thing Andrew wanted more than
revenge, it was power. He’d always been jealous of anyone that he couldn’t beat
no matter if they were older or stronger or had more experience. The stupid son
of a bitch had to be the center of attention, and would do whatever it took to
get there. His recent resurrection, and bid to the rule the world by any means
necessary, was no surprise. Stopping him was pretty much all that mattered to
any of them.

Just above him, he could see the outline of
what looked like an old tin roof covered in vines being held up with more of
the same vines. He directed his senses, and opened them wide. The witch was
definitely inside, and his original assumption had been right. She was pissed,
and powerful. Moving with all the stealth of years of battle training, he made
his way towards the structure, keeping watch for anyone or anything that may be
lying in wait. He slid around the backside of the cabin, and waited to the
count of ten for any sign of movement. He ‘felt’ the interior to make sure
there were no surprises. All he could sense was one seriously feisty witch.
“I
hope she doesn’t turn me into a frog.”
His dragon seconded that thought,
and decided that neither one of them would look good as a green, slimy
amphibian.

Creeping towards the front, staying out of the
moonlight as much as possible, he finally reached the only way in or out of the
cabin. Slowly opening the door, he caught a glimpse of the smallest woman he’d
ever seen, trussed to a chair with duct tape, and with a red bandana hanging
out of her mouth. Her vivid violet eyes spit fire, and the chair she was in
began rocking side to side as she tugged at her restraints with surprising
strength. He held his hands up, and hoped she understood he meant her no harm.
The closer he got, the broader he smiled. Finally, she stopped struggling. He
removed her gag, and put his index finger to his lips to make sure she knew to
keep as quiet as possible. She nodded in agreement, and opened her mouth wide,
moving her jaw side to side to loosen her muscles before speaking. Her voice
was high and clear even when she whispered; reminding him of the fairies he’d
met in the hills of Ireland many years ago. But that was where the likeness
ended, because her attitude was all witch and all sarcasm. “Okay, dragon man,
let’s get me out of this damn chair, and find that asshole.”

He was shocked, “You can tell what I am even
though I’m shielding?”

“You
betcha
.
I’m a
helluva
lot
older than I look.” She winked at him, ending any misconception he had about
the tiny white-blonde sorceress needing his help for anything, but to escape
from the duct tape.

He carefully pulled the duct tape from her
right hand, trying not to harm her in any way. About halfway through, she
leaned close and whispered, “Rip that shit off. I’ll heal. You’re wasting time.
I can hear all the chaos that idiot is causing.”

“What you hear isn’t Andrew’s doing. It’s a
friend of his, maybe you’ve heard of him, ‘The Auctioneer’?” Lance questioned
as he finishing releasing her hand.

“Nope, can’t say as I have,” she answered. Then
she took a long deep breath, and in the next second, ripped the duct tape off
her other arm, managing to stifle the scream he could see straining her throat.

“Name’s Kyra, by the way, and I figure you
already smelled I’m one of good guys for yourself, but just so we don’t have
any misunderstandings,
no black magic is welcome here
.” She started
taking the tape off her ankles, one at a time. At least it was over her pants
so there was no more pain…just tons of tape to get through. “That little fucker
came to me about six or seven months ago with some sob story about needing to
hide from y’all. So, I made him some amulets, and then he came back for more.
I’ve never been one to get caught up in disputes between clans or any other
sects. I work for whoever I can barter with or can pay me. The first time, he
paid. This time, we were to barter specialty ingredients. But as soon as I was
finishing the talismans, the shithead tied me up and one of the idiots with him
mentioned blowing things up. I knew the stupid shit had messed with my magic,
and that just
pisses me off
.” She finished whispering through gritted
teeth. He could tell she would’ve been screaming had the situation allowed it.

 “So you didn’t design them to blow up?”
he asked, curious to see exactly what she was capable of.

“Nope, sure didn’t. I designed some to hide
scent, and some to stun a person if they get close enough, but nothing that
would blow up. I’ve taken a vow to
do no harm
unless necessary for
survival, so you can see where making amulets that blow up just might go
against that. Now, I don’t know how much you know about witches,” she looked at
him waiting for an answer, and only continued after he shook his head to
indicate little to nothing. “Well, if I violate my vows, I get a visit from the
Council, and that never ends well for someone that goes against any of their
rules, especially if that
witch
is not part of a
coven.”