Magical Lover (10 page)

“Sounds like a plan. Then you can get back to your female and continue what you started this morning.”

“She’s not my female and nothing was started. Things are always ready for action in the morning.”

“Mmph. Especially with a pretty female around.”

Thoren’s lip peeled off his teeth and for the second time in his life, he snarled at his friend. He really needed to get in control of these emotions. Enar paid Keara a compliment, there was absolutely no reason to stake a claim on her.

So why was his lip still up around his cheekbone?

Enar stood, arms crossed, one eyebrow raised.

“Sorry. I seem to be a little upset right now. Maybe you have a clue why?”

Enar snorted. “I’ve yet to meet a Draconi who could fight the mating once he found his female.”

“She’s not my female.” Or was she?

“Whatever, fool.” Enar smacked him on the arm. “Let’s go get the lad. I’d rather see
my
woman instead of chasing after imps.”

****

Keara paced from one end of the warded ground to the other, ignoring Lily who sat against a tree, wrapped in a blanket. Thoren had pointed out where the ward-lines stood, telling her to stay inside them so that she would be safe from harm. For the past hour she had done just that, not daring to step outside the lines for fear of what might happen. But now her fear for Jamie overruled her fear for her own safety. She shouldn’t be at the campsite, pacing uselessly, while Jamie was lost and alone. She should be out trying to find him.

She marched back to Lily, determined to find Jamie on her own.

Lily poked her head out from the blanket, eyes wide. “Don’t even think about leaving me here alone.”

“You have the blanket. No one can see you. Jamie needs me. The men don’t know their way around these woods. What if they get lost?”

“They won’t get lost. You on the other hand...”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I grew up around here. Grandmother used to take me to these woods for herbs.” Once, when she was little, but still. “I’m going to find Jamie. He needs me.”

“And I don’t?”

“You have the blanket. And you’re sitting in the wards. Jamie’s by himself in the woods. What if something happened to him? I can’t leave him alone out there!” Keara gestured to the woods.

“Are you sure nothing can get to me?”

“Thoren said nothing non-Draconi can get through those wards. You can’t get out can you?”

“No.”

“Then nothing can get in to you. You’re safe. Jamie needs me.”

“Thoren won’t be happy about it.”

Keara sighed. “I know. But I have to. You understand, don’t you?”

“I understand. Don’t worry about me. I’ll hide under this invisibility blanket.” She pulled the blanket over her head, disappearing from view. “Be safe.”

“Thanks, love. I won’t be long.”

Tracking the men wasn’t as hard as she feared. Strangely enough, it seemed easier to track their scent rather than the marks left on the ground. Did dragons track by scent? She shook her head. Who would have thought she was part—dare she say it—dragon? Until yesterday, she didn’t realize dragons existed outside of fables. What did a dragon look like? Thoren claimed to be one, but he looked like a man.

Maybe dragons were sexy, good-looking, raven-haired men.

A woman could get used to dragons like that. Especially one like Thoren. Over the course of a day, she went from being frightened of him to excited whenever he was near. Her entire body tingled when he touched her and she had this odd urge to throw him down and bite him on the neck.

Why was that? Maybe dragons did that type of thing. She’d have to ask. Or not. How embarrassing would that conversation be?
Hey, Thoren, I want to bite your neck.
Right. He’d think her some sort of evil night creature.

Looking up from the trail she followed, Keara saw the wall surrounding the town of River’s Run. Talk about being lost in thought. Had she actually walked all the way back to town and not noticed? What a way to be careful and watch where she walked.

Was she in danger? Did Lord Simon want her enough to chase her? He wasn’t that ambitious, right?

Probably not, but to be safe, she probably should return to Lily. If her nose proved correct, Jamie and the men were in town, not in the woods. And if she could scent Jamie, no doubt Thoren could too and do a better job of it. As hard as it was, she needed to trust him to return Jamie.

Taking one last look at the town, she turned, only to come to a complete stop. Her lungs stopped pumping, her heart double-timing it.

“Hello, Keara,” Lord Simon leered. “Nice of you to find me. Saved me a lot of trouble.”

Keara tried to scream, but someone grabbed her from behind, slapping a grimy hand across her mouth. The scent of stale sweat and overripe bodies assaulted her. Time slowed, until her awareness focused solely on her useless struggling and the frantic beat of her heart thudding in her ears. Her feet kicked against the shins of what had to be a tree. Despite her efforts, he didn’t budge. What was Lord Simon going to do to her? Why did he want her badly enough to capture her?

Stalking toward Keara with the grace of a large cat, Lord Simon pulled a stained rag from his tunic. His lip curled as he came to her, his eyes flat, emotionless. He stuffed the foul tasting cloth into her mouth, almost choking her with it. She shook her head, trying to spit the gag out, trying not to have him tie it, but he slapped her, stunning her into stillness. The cloth cut into her cheeks as he pulled it tightly behind her head.

“I have plans for you.” Simon shook a finger in her face. “You’ve been a bad girl, running off, making it hard for me to find you.”

The henchman loosened his grip from her waist, grabbing onto her arms, yanking them behind her back. Simon tied her wrists together, twisting the ropes until blood pulsed in her hands, trapped there by the bindings. The gag caught her yelp of pain. When he finished tying her hands, he cinched her feet together. If his henchman hadn’t been holding her arms she would have fallen over. Fear coiled in her stomach, and she swallowed the nausea that threatened to overwhelm her.

The henchman pitched her over his shoulder and blood rushed to her face, throbbing against the gag. Each step he took stabbed his shoulder into her stomach as she fought to breathe. Her shoulders ached from the tension of her tied wrists. Her hands and feet tingled as they went numb.

Would Thoren know to look for her? Would he care? How could she be so stupid as to fall into Lord Simon’s clutches? Again. Would she be able to escape him this time?

Soon the man carrying her stopped. Keara raised her head to see that they stood at the side of the wall surrounding the town, an open door spilling darkness before them. The position hurt her neck, and she let her head fall against the man’s back.

“Welcome to my home, Keara. You’ll stay here until the hooded man decides to take you elsewhere.” Lord Simon chuckled as he grabbed her braid, jerking her head up to meet his gaze. “Who knows? If you’re good, he might even share you.” Despite her eyes watering, she managed to fix him with a glare. Not a smart move, to antagonize one’s captor, but no way would anyone be sharing her.

And who was this hooded man? A chill ran down her spine a second before Simon’s palm smacked against her cheek. The pain ricocheted through her already aching head.

“You’ll learn not to look at me that way. Fast or slow, you’ll learn.” He dropped his grip, allowing her head to bang against the man’s back.

Keara ran her tongue around the inside of her mouth, feeling the cuts, trying to swallow the blood before she gagged. Her cheeks on fire, tears of pain and frustration ran from the corners of her eyes. The man walked through the opening in the wall and the door slammed shut behind them with a bang, plunging them into darkness.

Bile rose in her throat the deeper they walked through the stone tunnel. Cold fear shot through her veins when she saw the barred cells of the dungeon, chains dripping from the walls, the rank smell of damp thick in the air.

Oh, please Goddess, don’t let them keep me here!

Keara raised her head, blinking away the tears. She would not cry. She would not give Simon the satisfaction of seeing her upset. Torchlight flickered against the damp stones. From one of the cells came shuffling noises, like that made by a large beast. A huge shadow appeared in the cell from which the noises came and the shuffling sound grew louder. Her heart stepped up its rhythm, a frantic thudding in her chest, echoing in her ears. Would they feed her to the beast? It took all her willpower to turn her head to the side, to stare at the beast as it came toward them.

The man carrying her gasped, almost dropping her as he took a step to the side. But Keara couldn’t look away. Her gaze remained transfixed by the monster. Blood red scales glinted in the torchlight. A long snout culminating in sharp teeth and large nostrils butted against thick prison bars.

Glowing green eyes blinked at her, widened, then narrowed. It let out a roar that shook the dungeon, causing little rivulets of dirt to drop on their heads. Claws tried to grasp the bars as the thing roared again. Steam started coming from its nostrils and a small amount out its ears. Opening its mouth, gracing them with a view of sharp teeth, it let out a plume of fire, narrowly missing them.

Heat blasted against Keara as the man holding her dropped her in a panic. She landed with a thud against the dirt floor, stunned, the breath locked in her lungs. The creature bellowed its rage, letting loose another plume of fire, which raced in the air above her body, hitting full force the man who dropped her. A scream of pain lasted seconds before ending abruptly.

Keara smelled the nauseating stench of burned flesh and concentrated on not gagging. Opening her eyes, she stared in horror at the monster. It stared back, making little whimper noises, steam still pouring from its nose and ears.

Free me and I’ll help you.
The words in her head startled Keara. Had she hit her head hard enough to hear voices?

“I see you’ve met my father’s pet.” Lord Simon stood beside her, causing her to twitch in surprise. She missed hearing his footsteps in all the commotion. The creature started making snuffling noises, heralding another fireball. Lord Simon yanked Keara to her feet, holding her against him as a shield, dragging her body backward. A roar bellowed from the cell as the monster threw itself against the bars.

“Father claimed it was a man when he captured it, a powerful man. Not like you could believe a thing my dear father said. He captured the ‘man’ here right before he lost his mind.”

Keara remembered her grandmother treating Lord Simon’s father for dementia. The old woman had been puzzled, saying no good reason existed for a man his age to lose his mind.

“Now our little ‘man’ sits around, eating cattle and billowing smoke. He must really hate you though because he’s never made a crispy critter out of one of the men before. I’ll keep that in mind, in case you fall out of favor with the hooded man.”

The creature roared again.
Free me, girl, and I’ll set you free.

How? How do I do that when I can’t get free? Great, just great. I’m carrying on a conversation with that creature in my head.
Maybe dementia was catching. Or maybe the thing could talk in her head. Lord Simon reached the stairs, starting to back up them. Keara’s feet bumped against the steps and she caught her breath.

The keys, girl. Give me the keys.

Good thing she was gagged. If not she’d be laughing hysterically.
I’m losing it.

No, not losing it. Think about the keys landing in front of my cell. Think hard.

Why not? What did she have to lose? Before Lord Simon could drag her around the bend in the stairs, she sighted the keys hanging on the wall, several feet from the creature’s cell. Closing her eyes, she pictured them floating off the wall and toward the creature, landing outside the bars of his cell. When she opened her eyes, the wall of the stairwell blocked her sight to the dungeon, so she couldn’t tell if the keys still hung on the wall or not. But a voice floated through her head on a sigh.