Midnight's Captive (Dark Warriors) (28 page)

That seemed to spur her into action. With her help, it took no time for them to remove all evidence of her work.

“Wallace is here,” Galen said as he ran back into the room.

Aiden knew their time had run out. There was nowhere left for them to run, and by the way Quinn squeezed his mobile phone at his ear, he couldn’t get a hold of Fallon.

Quinn lowered the mobile and turned to Galen. “Get my son and Britt out of here.”

“I’m no’ leaving you,” Aiden said, furious that his father would sacrifice himself.

Quinn smiled sadly. “You and Britt are the future. Together, the two of you can find a way to beat Wallace and any
drough
who dares to take his place.”

“I need you. We all need you,” Aiden argued.

“It’s the only way.”

Galen stepped between them. “Nay. I’ll stay behind and create a diversion. I’m no’ the one with a child, Quinn. Take your son and Britt, and get the hell out of here.”

“Stop it!” Britt yelled. “We can all leave if we quit arguing about it.”

Aiden raised a brow in question at both his father and Galen. When they nodded, Aiden grabbed Britt’s hand and pulled her out the door with him.

He could hear Wallace getting closer. The maze of corridors in the building kept them a ways ahead of Jason and his gang. But would it be enough?

*   *   *

“Dragons,” Charon whispered, hardly able to believe his eyes as he tracked the green dragon meandering lazily in the clouds.

“Dragon Kings, to be exact,” Constantine said. “We ruled this realm long before man ever appeared. Imagine dragons of every shape, size, and color in the skies, on land, and in the water.”

Charon watched the green dragon spread its wings and catch a current that took it back into the clouds. He turned to Con and Guy then. “And when man came?”

“We Kings were able to shift from dragon to human and back again to help keep the peace between dragons and humans,” Guy explained.

“As with all things, it didna last,” Con said softly.

Charon knew there was more to the story, but he wasn’t going to find out that day. “So all of you are Dragon Kings?”

Guy nodded. “I’m King of the Reds. Hal, who you saw out there, is King of the Greens. Con is the King of Kings.”

“And here I thought you were just some CEO,” Charon said with a grin. “Did you rule all dragons?”

Con leaned a hip against his desk. “I was King of the Golds, as well as being leader to all Kings.”

“How does no one know what you are?”

“That’s a long story,” Con said, and set down his whisky. “Suffice it to say, we’ve been verra careful. We’ve never interfered in the world before, but I’ve been watching your war with the
droughs
. You and the other Warriors, along with their Druids, have made a good stand against evil. However, Jason Wallace is proving to be a more dangerous enemy than I ever expected.”

“Can you help? Will you help?” Charon asked.

Con smiled. “I wouldna have allowed you to know what we are, or told you I knew you to be a Warrior if I didna plan to offer our aid.”

Guy rubbed his hands together. “It’s been so many millennia since I’ve had a good fight. I’m eager for this.”

“Your secret will be revealed. You do understand that, right?” Charon asked.

Con straightened and clamped a hand on his shoulder. “How long have you Warriors thought you were the only ones left to battle evil?”

“Hundreds of years.”

“It was my decision to keep my Kings from helping any of you. Our dragons are gone, Charon, and with it, a part of our souls. We’ve lived a certain way for eons, but as it’s recently been pointed out to me, times have changed. It’s time we Dragon Kings changed with it.”

Charon wanted their help, and he knew he needed their help. Still, the idea of the world discovering the Dragon Kings made him wonder how it would all turn out.

The sound of a dragon’s roar was louder than the thunder. So much about Dreagan made sense now, and he was loath to shatter what the Kings had built there.

“I’m no’ sure it’s worth it,” he said. “Any of you daring to be seen as a dragon will turn attention here.”

“It’s already happened,” Guy said. “In London, actually. We … well, let’s just say there was an incident that couldna be avoided. Two Kings had no choice but to shift to beat our enemy. No one has heard about that.”

Charon raked a hand through his hair and paced the office. He knew all about risk. He had risked his village discovering what he was for four hundred years.

Even now that they knew he wasn’t just a man, the illusion he had created was his armor. What the Dragon Kings had built was so much more.

He stopped and blew out a harsh breath. “If you help, I want to make sure the only people who might see any of you will be Druids and Warriors. The Dragon Kings need to be kept from the world.”

“I like him,” Guy said with a broad smile to Con.

Con laughed. “As do I. I agree with you, Charon. Battles, though, have their own way of happening without any help from the players.”

The door to Con’s office was thrown open as a man with dark hair and aqua eyes stood in the doorway. “The selmyr have struck again, Con.”

Charon’s blood turned to ice as he recalled Arran’s run-in with the ancient creatures who fed off magic. His first thought was of Laura, until he realized her magic was gone again.

“Where?” Charon demanded as he took a step toward the man.

Con’s forehead furrowed as he asked, “You know of these creatures?”

“Aye. Another Warrior was nearly killed by them when his woman accidentally released them. I thought you knew everything.”

Con’s lips pressed into a tight line before he said, “We can no’ be everywhere.”

“I need to know where the selmyr are at,” Charon said, his tone brooking no argument.

“Follow me and I’ll tell you,” Con said as he walked from his office.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Laura pulled off the road and parked the SUV. She stared down the street to her parents’ house. Pots overflowed with a bright array of flowers, just as she remembered.

But what she didn’t remember was the red paint peeling from the door. Her mother had been fastidious about keeping everything in perfect condition.

She inhaled, both hands on the wheel, and wondered what the hell she was going to say to her mother and sister. They had her magic. There was no way for her to get it back from them. She knew nothing of magic.

Laura recalled the drums and chanting she’d heard while she was in the forest for the brief respite when she’d had her magic. The chanting had comforted her and offered her solace in a world that seemed to have gone crazy.

Her magic—as well as the chanting—was gone, and yet the world was crazier than ever.

Laura leaned her head back against the seat and briefly squeezed her eyes shut. “What have I gotten myself into?”

Though it wasn’t really her fault. She was angry at Charon for not telling her everything and for not believing her, but she didn’t blame him. She’d probably doubt her as well if she were in his shoes.

She wished he was with her, his strong arms around her as he whispered words of comfort. Charon was always so ready and able to face whatever came his way. Now she knew part of it was because he was a Warrior and immortal.

But another part she knew was something that was simply Charon, something that was in his DNA long before he had his god unbound. It’s what made the god chose him, what made Charon the only man who could ever affect her the way he did.

“Damn you, Charon,” she said. “I knew it’d be a disaster to care about you.”

Before she changed her mind, she opened the door and got out of the Range Rover. Her legs were unsteady as she slowly walked to the red front door.

She paused before her shaking hand could knock on the door. A gust of what she thought was wind whipped by her, blowing her hair in her eyes. She clawed at the strands and caught sight of what appeared to be something pale gray swirling around her before it vanished.

A shiver of foreboding crawled down Laura’s spine. “Mother,” she called out as she pounded on the door, her nerves forgotten as worry set in. “Lacy!”

There was a scream from the back of the house. Laura jumped a hedge and raced to the wooden gate. Her fingers slipped on the latch in her hurry, but before she could get it open, someone grabbed her from behind.

“Laura, nay,” Charon whispered tightly.

She stilled, terrified screams reverberating around her. Laura focused on his face to keep the chaos she felt swirling around her at bay. “Charon.”

“Aye.”

“My parents.”

“I know, lass, but we have to leave.”

She heard the urgency in his voice, but her legs wouldn’t move. Laura tried to say Charon’s name again as something slammed into her. She jerked, her entire body feeling as if a current of electricity went through her.

“Shit,” Charon said and lifted her in his arms. “Her magic is returning. We have to get her out of here now.”

Laura wanted to know who he was talking to, but her eyes were riveted on the gate. Something was on the other side. Something she innately knew was there to do her harm.

“Go. I’ll hold them off,” a male voice said.

Charon started running, and Laura wound her arms around his neck. She felt her magic humming through her veins once more, and it was amazing.

She didn’t know how she had managed to get it back, but it was hers once more. And she wouldn’t give it up again.

Charon unceremoniously dumped her in the backseat of another SUV. She scooted to her side and turned her head to ask him what was going on when she saw the tall, gangly monster with ash-colored skin bust through her parents’ gate with one swing of its fist.

“Bloody hell,” she murmured.

Charon slammed his door shut. “Can we leave him?” he asked the driver.

Guy smiled in the rearview mirror, his pale brown eyes ringed in black crinkling at the corners. “I feel sorry for anyone wanting to tangle with Con. Rhys is with him, too, so he’ll be fine.”

The SUV sped off with a peel of tires as it started to rain. Laura turned in the seat to look through the back window as Con and the ash-skinned creature circled each other while several other similar beings began to close around them.

“What are those things?” Laura asked.

They turned a corner so sharply, she careened into the door. With her parents’ house out of view, she turned and faced forward, her heart hammering in her chest.

“They’re called selmyr,” Charon said, his eyes looking dead ahead. “They’re ancient monsters who hunt and feed off other magical beings.”

Laura put her hand atop his. “My parents? I heard screams.”

His gaze dropped to her hand before he looked at her. His long dark hair was in disarray, and his eyes were filled with sorrow. “They came for your mother. They felt your magic in her, Laura.”

“Why didn’t you try to save her?”

“There was nothing to save,” Guy said from the front. “The selmyr move on the wind. If you feel them, it’s already too late.”

She braced a hand against her forehead. “I came to make them return my magic.”

“Her death did it,” Charon said. “The selmyr took your sister as well.”

Laura nodded numbly and lifted her head. She felt sorrow in losing her mother and sister, but it wasn’t the anguish she should feel toward her family. “And my father?”

“The selmyr doona bother anyone without magic. Your father will be fine unless he gets in the way,” Guy said.

Charon moved his arm so that he took her hand in one of his. She wanted to cry for the loss of her mother and sister, but couldn’t do it.

“How did you find me?” she asked.

Charon’s thumb moved in small circles on the back of her hand. “Lacy was found about forty miles away.”

“By who?” she asked.

Charon and Guy shared a look in the rearview mirror. Finally Charon said, “By one of Con’s men.”

“We guessed the selmyr might look for the closest magical being,” Guy added. “Which brought us here.”

Laura looked at Charon’s large hand against hers. “You saved me again. If you hadn’t of been there…” She trailed off, unable to finish.

“Nay.” He put a finger beneath her chin to lift her head. “Doona cry over your mother and sister. They got what they deserved after what they did to you. And your father … he deserves the same for standing by and allowing them to treat you that way.”

She tried to nod but was ensnared by his dark chocolate gaze. His hand slid sensuously along her throat to the back of her neck. His fingers were firm but soft as they sank into her hair.

Laura had never been able to deny the attraction she felt for Charon. With him as close as he was, and looking at her with such heat and longing, she couldn’t have pulled away had her life depended upon it.

Each beat of her heart caused her blood to heat and desire to pool within her. All too easily she remembered how it felt to be in his arms, how he had touched her, kissed her.

Loved her.

Charon’s head dipped to hers, his long eyelashes lowering as his eyes slid closed. Laura’s did the same a second before his lips touched hers.

And passion consumed them.

Her hands were on his chest, feeling every hard muscle beneath her palm as if it were the first time. She could feel his body straining to get closer to her. Laura unbuckled her seat belt as Guy took a turn in the road, throwing her on top of Charon.

Charon’s hands cupped both sides of her face as he searched her eyes. “Are you hurt?”

“No.”

“Good,” he murmured before he claimed her mouth again.

Laura groaned softly when he slid down the seat so she was lying on top of him. His hands gripped her butt and squeezed as he deepened the kiss.

“Um … you might want to put your seat belt on,” Guy said.

She lifted her head and looked at Charon right as the SUV hit a huge hole, jostling Laura several inches into the air. In less than a heartbeat, Charon had her sitting up and her seat belt buckled before she knew what he was doing.

“Where are we?” Charon asked.

Guy chuckled. “Dreagan land. We’re just taking a bit of a shortcut.”