Love of the Dragon (Her Dragon's Bane 4) (16 page)

“They have a seer of sorts. Danielle here can prevent her from seeing inside here. But your thoughts are most likely exposed to her.”

“Interesting.”

Danielle moved away from Charlotte towards the vampires. For a moment, her eyes locked with Samuel’s and something passed between them that made her stomach lurch. One of them was a dragon. Danielle knew it and saw him closing in.

Charlotte opened her mouth to shout, but a hand clamped down over it. “Keep quiet,” the thug holding her hissed. “And be ready to run.”

It all happened so fast, afterwards she wouldn’t be able to tell exactly what happened. Danielle pulled out a stake and plunged it one of the vampire's heart. He exploded into a cloud of ash, like the kind you found in the fireplace when the embers had burned down to nothing.

Five sets of fangs protruded from the remaining vampires and above the screams from Danielle was Samuel's voice, scared and pleading.

“I didn’t know. She thought you were a dragon, let’s...” Then he screamed and Charlotte knew he wouldn’t survive this time. He would die by the teeth of a vampire rather than the fire of a dragon.

“Run,” the thug whispered and he dragged her backwards. She followed him; anything was better than the sounds of death filling the warehouse.

“Where are we going?” Charlotte asked, not knowing if she really felt safe in his hands, he was still one of Samuel's men.

“To the room they were holding you in.”

“I’m not going in there again.” She stopped dead in her tracks. “I’m not going to let you sell me instead.”

“Charlotte. It’s the only way out. Zoah managed to pinpoint where you were from the outside. Any minute now, the dragons are going to break it down and we have to be ready. We need to get away from here.”

“Who are you?”

“Your friendly neighbourhood witch.”

“Tara. But...”

“I hexed the vampire so he would appear human. It was the only way to get you out without the dragons coming in. I think it worked beautifully. But you can thank me later.”

As they ran, the building shook under a terrible force. She was right. The dragons were breaking in. She ran, the dress catching around her ankles, so she lifted it up. By the time they reached the room she had been kept prisoner in, there was a big gaping hole in the wall.

Beyond the rubble stood six dragons. And Zoah.

“Charlotte,” he called and she ran to him. Flinging herself into his arms. However, this was not the time for lingering embraces. He lifted her and carried her to Connor, who eased himself down so that she could scramble onto him. Her dress caught and Zoah ripped a split in it so she could sit astride his brother. Then Zoah climbed up behind her.

Over to their left Tara, still looking like a man, was already mounted on Dòmhnall. Above them, two of the dragons had already taken off, flying straight and true up into the night sky.

“Hang on; we have to go almost vertically up, to avoid being seen. With so many of us, we have to get above the city lights as fast as we can. It’s risky, but we had to come in force in case there was a battle. Now we can’t afford for anyone to be left behind.”

He wrapped his arms around her as Connor launched himself into the air. Dòmhnall was a few seconds behind them, and once they were above the streetlights, the two remaining dragons followed. Turning to look down, over the back of Connor, he watched the last two climb to safety. When they were all safely airborne and heading into the clouds hanging above the city, he allowed himself to feel relief wash over him.

It was dangerous flying. An airport was nearby and the chance of colliding with a plane was risky. However, planes flew on certain paths, paths that the dragons would be in and out of in a blink of an eye. Tears streamed from his face as Connor’s wings powered them higher and higher, defying gravity. He knew now how Charlotte had felt riding on his back and was sad that might never happen again.

It was cold; only the heat from Connor’s body was keeping him warm. His arms circled around Charlotte, holding her tighter. He couldn’t help nuzzling her neck and breathing in her scent. She was safe and in a couple of hours, they would be home.

It was agreed they would go straight to the big house. There Zoah and Charlotte would be left alone, while the others continued on to Spellholm. He knew Connor was reluctant to leave him in his present state. However, Zoah had insisted he go back to Serena, who was waiting anxiously with Brandan.

Zoah didn’t know what it was to be vulnerable. Not until his dragon had left him. Now, with Charlotte in front of him, he wondered how he would protect her if trouble came knocking. That was if she wanted to stay with him. All he had to offer her was gone. Only a man remained. Part of his former self, the weaker part too. If she dreamed of being the mate of a dragon, she might not be able to adjust to this broken man. It would be hard. He knew, because for him it seemed impossible. Only the thought of finally having her in his arms kept his heart beating. He had been stripped of everything he thought he was. Everything he had was gone, except his love for her.

The flight of dragons split in two. Connor, Dòmhnall and one other dragon, she thought it was Marcas, went on to the house. The others banked and headed back to Spellholm; they were much less conspicuous now they were two smaller groups.

The moon was high in the sky, and they picked up their pace to fly faster over the towns and cities below. If Connor and Dòmhnall were going to complete their journey and go on to Spellholm tonight as planned, they needed to hurry.

It was hard to think of anything other than the touch of Zoah’s arms around her, but she was anxious for Serena. Her sister would be fraught with worry until Connor returned, and she hated being the cause. Once she was mated with Zoah, she would be his responsibility, leaving Connor free to look after his family. Or would both Charlotte and Zoah remain Connor's responsibility? If Zoah didn’t regain his dragon, he would no longer be invincible in battle.

Leaning her head back, she rested against him, finding comfort in his presence. He loosed his arm from its grip on Connor’s spine and wrapped it around her waist, holding her tightly against him. She turned her head to the left, and he leaned forward to press his cheek against hers. They didn’t speak. There was too much to say and no easy place to start. When they were alone, they would find a way. But not here. Not now.

One by one, they dropped towards the ground. First, they descended through a cloudbank and then lower, to skim the underside of big cotton-wool clouds. The streetlights below were twinkling and she began to recognise landmarks. They were nearly home.

Connor led the way. He dipped down and flew straight towards a patch of darkness: the old house, lonely and empty. It stood waiting for their return. As it grew bigger, she could see the high tower where Connor would land. The other two dragons dropped down into the grounds; there wasn’t enough room for them all on the tower.

With his feet outstretched, Connor hovered before dropping onto the hard stone. Quickly Zoah slid off, his feet hitting the ground hard. He grunted, but immediately reached up to help her down. Stiffly, she dismounted, falling into his arms. Now she knew why he hadn’t been so agile. Her legs and arms were stiff from holding on; she realised Zoah’s must be too.

Zoah pulled her towards the edge of the tower while Connor changed. When he stood before her as the large man she knew and loved, she launched herself into his arms.

“I’m so sorry, Connor. Is Serena OK? I never meant for any of this to happen.”

“I know, Charlotte. And don’t worry, Serena completely understands. She doesn’t blame you.” He looked over her shoulder to Zoah.

“Who does she blame?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“She blames Zoah?”

“The blame goes three ways.”

“Three ways?”

“Yes. Connor is in the doghouse along with me and Tara.”

“I don’t understand?”

“It was the three of us who came up with the idea for this little thing.” Zoah took the glass jar from his pocket and released an ecstatic Azure. He darted straight to Charlotte and flapped around her head, spinning around and around.

“It’s my fault. I left,” she said firmly, pleased to see Azure still safe.

“We could go round and round in circles blaming each other. It would make no difference. Right now, we need to go down and let Dòmhnall and Tara in. As soon as we are ready, we need to fly for Spellholm. It’s still going to take another two hours to get there and there isn’t much of the night left. I would hate to leave Serena alone when we have no idea what the vampires are up to.”

“Of course.” She felt chastised.

Connor went to the trap door and unbolted it, and then he went down into the tower. Zoah came up behind her, resting a reassuring hand on her arm. “He’s worried. That’s all. It’s been a long night, after a long few days. Let’s go and help them prepare for the rest of their journey and then we can sleep.”

“You never sleep.”

“I’ve never been only human before. Now I could sleep for days.”

He took her hand and they went down into the tower, following the steps round and round as they descended. Her legs were leaden; her heart wasn’t much lighter either. She had always expected their return here to be exciting, exhilarating, but she felt sad. Although she did realise that amongst all the other feelings, there was a definite feeling of coming home.

For this was the only real home she had ever known. Living here with Zoah and then with Serena and Connor, before they had left for Spellholm, the house had become her refuge. She had explored the rooms and loved the smell of the place. Especially the way the house was cluttered with all the things they had collected over their lifetimes. Not organised and labelled, as it would be in a museum. It reminded her of Serena’s house now they had Brandan. With toys strewn about, there were signs of a happy family everywhere you looked.

“Are you OK?” he asked.

They had reached the bottom of the tower and she leaned against the wall for a moment. She was so weak, not only from the stress of the last few days, but she couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten. Standing up, she took a deep breath. Connor had to leave as quickly as possible, she had to pull herself together and move on.

“Yes, I’m OK. Go on if you have to, I’ll catch up.”

He came back to her. “Charlotte, I have no intention of letting you out of my sight.”

“Then let’s go.”

One foot in front of the other, that she could manage. Although the dress kept catching around her ankles, and eventually Zoah tucked his hand under her elbow to keep her on her feet. The sound of voices brought them to the kitchen. The unfamiliar sight of Dòmhnall and Marcas in such a familiar place was downright odd. They felt it too, looking awkwardly around them, wanting to leave.

“Ahh, there you are,” Tara said coming up to Charlotte. “Could I use the bathroom?”

“Of course,” Charlotte said. “You remember where it is?”

Tara had stayed here for a few days, years ago, so Charlotte was surprised when the witch said, “Can you show me the way?”

Charlotte was too tired to move. “Don’t you remember the way? It’s down there and to the right.”

“I would like some company,” Tara insisted.

Was she glaring at Charlotte? If she had been more awake, she would have got the hint sooner. As it was, it filtered slowly into her brain that Tara wanted something. Something important.

“Of course.”

Zoah made to follow her. “I’ll look after your little mate, Zoah. You can see that the boys are ready to fly when I get back.”

The boys. Charlotte had to smile at Tara’s nerve. Dòmhnall was the most powerful dragon in the world; he was certainly no boy. The dragons were, however, too preoccupied with their discussions to notice.

“What’s this all about?” Charlotte asked Tara. The witch had gone straight to the bathroom without needing to be shown the way. So she definitely had something else to say.

Tara put her hand in her pocket and pulled out what looked like a scrap of cloth. “Now. You have to promise me you won’t get mad or do something stupid. Everything that happened, happened for a reason. You know that’s how it works, or at least you should do by now.”

“Don’t tell me there’s more trouble on the way. I’m too tired.”

“First, I have something for you. Just promise me you’ll keep this information to yourself.”

“I don’t know if I can promise that. If it’s something that puts us in danger.”

“It doesn’t. I swear. This is more about you and Zoah.”

Charlotte glanced down at Tara’s hand. “What have you got there, Tara?”

She opened her hand. On her palm sat a stitched dragon, made out of blue felt, with a piece of twine bound around it. Charlotte had a vague feeling she should be making some kind of connection here, but her brain refused to process the facts.

“What is it?”

“It’s a kind of voodoo doll. Or voodoo dragon.”

Charlotte’s blood chilled. “Zoah.”

“Yes. I had to bind him.”

“Bind him. You mean his wings?” She looked up in horror. “This is the reason he fell from the sky?”

“I admit the timing was a bit off.”

“A bit off! You could have killed him.” Her voice had risen in pitch and volume.

“Shhh. It needed to be done.”

“According to you, everything bad that happens always needs to be done. Sometimes I wonder...”

“Listen. You are here and you are safe. I can only go on what I see. And I saw that Zoah had to lose his dragon.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, so a certain now-deceased witch wouldn't know he was there. Or perhaps to stop him being an arrogant jerk.”

“Nice. Coming from an egotistical witch.”

“We can trade insults or you can take this for me.”

Charlotte couldn’t bear to look at the thing, yet alone touch it. “I am not using that thing.”

“I don’t need you to use it. I need you to undo it. After we’ve gone. Choose whatever moment feels right and then take the twine off. Unbind him.”