Releasing the Dragon: Myths and Legends, Book One (31 page)

My eyes never left the ring and the ongoing
fight while he spoke. "Shouldn't we throw a weapon down there for
Dragon?"

"Nah, Dragon won't need it, and he'd likely
be insulted by the gesture," Doyle chuckled from my other side.

Were they crazy! How was he going to win this
fight without a sword of his own? I was about to argue when Dragon
came up under the sword and ripped it from Malachi's hands. He
flung it across the ring and turned to smash his foot into
Malachi's head. The vampire went to his knees then fell face first
into the sand. Dragon kicked him several times in the midsection
until he rolled to his side curling up in a fetal position with his
hands covering his head.

Dragon looked nearly as good as he had when
he entered the ring. There was some drying blood on his arm but it
appeared that his wound had already closed. He backed off for a
moment and the vampire rolled to a sitting position. The crowd was
calling for Dragon to finish him. Malachi looked up at Dragon then
glanced to where Travali stood watching. The vampires shared a look
that said they both knew this match would not end well for Malachi.
When Travali lowered his eyes Malachi surged to his feet and
attacked Dragon with renewed strength and speed. The two of them
met in a blur of savage blows that ended when Dragon literally tore
Malachi's limbs from his body.

While Malachi lay on the ground at his feet
bleeding and shrieking in pain Dragon looked up into the stands
with red flames glowing in his eyes. It was the first time he had
let the dragon peek out since walking into this arena. A satisfied
smirk twisted his cruel lips when shock and fear registered on
Travali's face. Dragon turned his attention back to Malachi whose
eyes filled with terror when he saw the red flames staring down at
him and he realized what was about to happen. Dragon released the
beast within him and fire poured over the pitiful vampire at his
feet. Malachi's agonized screams were barely audible over the
torrent of flames spewing from the dragon.

I should have been horrified, just as I had
been by much of what I'd seen here tonight. But I felt no pity or
mercy for Malachi. I felt only pride in my mate and a deep sense of
satisfaction as I watched Dragon exact punishment on the vampire
who would have raped and murdered me.

When the dragon finally stopped breathing
fire Malachi was nothing but ash. The crowd had gone completely
quiet. I think they were afraid the dragon might turn on them if
they made a sound.

After another heartbeat of time the announcer
broke the silence. "And we thought the fire demon was impressive!
Now that's what I'm talking about!" The crowd erupted in cheers and
applause. Dragon went up on his hind legs with his wings spread and
let loose another stream of fire with a triumphant roar that shook
the stands throughout the arena.

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand
on end and turned to see what might have caused the sensation.
Travali was glaring at me from across the stadium with absolute
hatred in his black eyes. I knew he would never let this go, that
he would want someone to pay, that vengeance would be his. In his
eyes I saw my death and finally understood what sets the last part
of the prophecy in motion. "Hate takes over, vengeance sworn."
Malachi had been more to Travali than an employee or friend.
Watching them in the stands earlier it had been obvious they were
lovers. Dragon took his lover away from him, and now nothing would
stop Travali from taking me away from Dragon.

I turned away from the livid vampire and met
Claire's knowing eyes. We shared a moment of understanding before
Dragon flew into the air drawing my attention and landed beside me
gloriously naked in his human form. I jumped into his arms and
wrapped my legs around his waist, kissing him with pure joy in my
heart. I was so happy he was alive and this awful fight was finally
behind us. When the kiss broke we were laughing as our friends and
family gathered around us celebrating jubilantly, congratulating
Dragon on his decisive victory.

When Dragon set me on my feet Doyle slapped a
fresh pair of black leather pants against his chest and said,
"Here, put these on and stop showing your arse in public."

Dragon chuckled and slipped the pants over
his muscular legs. I was a little sad to see them covered but
decided it was probably for the best. Next, Doyle handed over
another black vest and a pair of boots.

Once Dragon was fully dressed various beings,
the species of which I could only guess, approached our group,
praising Dragon and talking politics. Many of them seemed very
interested in joining The United Clans. Eventually I realized Doyle
was missing but spotted him nearby settling his bets with one of
the bookies. From the unhappy look on the bookie's face, Doyle had
done well for himself tonight. Solomon had also wandered a little
from the group to meet up with a couple of females who were rubbing
themselves on him like cats in heat. Claire stood beside me and
Dragon smiling and chatting with the poise and grace of a woman
used to navigating political waters. I hoped that someday I would
possess the regal confidence of the former Dragon Queen.

Things were winding down and we were about to
head back to the resort when I noticed Rook call Doyle over and
whisper something in his ear while they both leered at the two
women with Solomon. They had a good laugh about something then
Doyle sauntered over to Solomon and his females in what looked like
an attempt to join the fun. After a few moments the four of them
climbed the stairs and disappeared through the exit. By this time
Dragon was watching the whole exchange through narrowed eyes like
none of their behavior was normal. I had to agree with that
assessment since they didn't quite pull off the casual appearance
they were going for.

Before I could ask Dragon what was going on
Rook suddenly jumped in front of me and snatched an arrow out of
the air just before it would have pierced my heart. Dragon had me
in his arms an instant later guarding my body with his own and
scanning the stadium for the shooter. There was a commotion on the
stairs above us then a male demon was running for the door in a
blur of motion. Before he could make his escape Doyle and Solomon
stepped into his path and blocked the exit. He tried to get around
them but Solomon waved his hand and the doorway was replaced by a
thick stone wall. The demon turned to fight and Doyle took the
would-be assassin down with merciless force.

When the demon was broken and bleeding they
tied him up and gagged him before Rook turned to me with a solemn
expression on his face. "I apologize for letting it go that far,
but I had to let him make the attempt or we'd have no right to
question him."

My heart was still racing and I leaned into
Dragon taking comfort in his embrace. "I understand. I know that
you would never take any unnecessary risks with my life."

Dragon kissed the top of my head then
announced, "I'm going to take Serafina home now. She doesn't need
to see what will happen next and I want her back in the safety of
our wards. I trust you will let me know what you find out."

"Once he breaks you will know everything he
knows." Rook promised with a menacing glare at the demon.

Dragon and Solomon escorted me and Claire
back to the resort while Rook and Doyle stayed behind to
interrogate the demon.

"You're not going to like it, any of it,"
Rook advised me as I walked into his office. I joined him in front
of the security monitors and took a seat. "How is Serafina this
morning, not too troubled by what she witnessed in The Pit last
night I hope?"

"She's had better days but she got out of bed
this morning and headed over to The Gateway for rehearsals. It's
mostly the fate of the woman that's still bothering her. She asked
me if there was any way we could buy her freedom. I promised her
I'd look into it, but the demon who claimed her will likely refuse
to give up his prize, especially if she's already carrying his
child."

"I could always persuade him, if you'd like."
Rook shrugged.

"No, we can't go around bullying every demon
who offends my mate. They'd take it to the council and we don't
need to give Travali and his supporters any ammunition that could
be used to discredit us."

"As you wish." Rook turned his attention to
the security monitors. When an image of Garrek appeared on screen
he said, "Notice the time and date stamp in the bottom right
corner." I nodded and he continued. "The demon I interrogated last
night swears up and down that Garrek was with him in New Orleans at
that exact time and date setting up the hit on Serafina."

I leaned back in the chair and considered the
possibilities. "That image of Garrek was taken right before he
walked into my office to confirm Malachi had accepted my challenge.
Are you sure the demon wasn't lying?"

"Trust me, I was very thorough in my
interrogation, the demon was not lying. He is convinced that Garrek
hired him to assassinate the new Dragon Queen."

"Then Garrek has either learned how to clone
himself or there's an imposter running around out there pretending
to be Garrek."

Rook started pulling up surveillance
recordings on another monitor. "It gets worse."

We watched as Malachi left the conference
room where he'd met with Doyle. He appeared to be heading straight
for the portal until he ran into Scarlett. The two of them had a
short conversation then he proceeded to Mystique where he danced
until Serafina left her stage and he grabbed her.

"What do you think she said to him?" I asked
Rook. It was obvious Scarlett sent Malachi to Mystique but I
doubted she understood what would happen as a result. Scarlett may
have been unhappy because of my relationship with Serafina, but I
just couldn't believe she would intentionally send Malachi to harm
her.

"That's not the question you should be
asking" My brows drew together as Rook pulled up an earlier
surveillance video that showed Scarlett leaving the resort through
the portal in Lilith's. "She didn't come back through that portal
until just before dawn Wednesday morning. I had Lucien go over all
the recordings himself to make sure there was no way Scarlett
slipped back into the resort to meet with Malachi."

I sat forward and scrutinized the image of
Scarlett speaking with Malachi. When I looked a little closer I
realized that it wasn't Scarlett after all. "I'll be damned.
Someone is using magic to create very good impostors." The woman's
hips were a little too curvy, her breasts too full. It looked like
someone was trying to copy the magic Solomon uses in his rings, but
whoever it was hadn't figured out how to conceal a body that is
larger than the echo being used.

Rook nodded. "That's the same conclusion I
came to. I asked Scarlett to drop by so I can let her know someone
is trying to set her up. She should be here any minute."

"Have the cameras picked up any other
suspicious behavior?" I got up and fixed myself a cup of coffee
while he answered.

"Nothing out of the ordinary but there was
another body dumped on the beach nearby. That makes three in the
last month. Whoever is dumping the humans knows exactly how close
they can get to the resort without getting picked up by our cameras
or patrols."

"Was this body also bloodless with puncture
wounds in the neck?" I asked and Rook confirmed my suspicions.
"Dammit! That is not the kind of publicity we need right now."

"I'm going to widen the area we patrol for a
while. Maybe we'll get lucky and catch the killer in the act when
he picks his next victim. In the meantime I'm sure Angela will be
stopping by again sometime today to question me about it." Rook's
smile certainly didn't fit the topic of our conversation.

I rolled my eyes. "You enjoy trying to get a
rise out of Detective Ruby far too much for your own good. How many
times has she asked you not to address her by her given name?"

Rook shrugged, completely unrepentant. "I
think it's a case of the lady protesting too much. If she weren't
convinced you're the leader of an organized crime ring and I'm your
lead enforcer, she would have given in to me years ago."

I sipped my coffee while I leaned against the
edge of the counter by the security monitors. "Unless you want to
explain the truth to her, there isn't really any other explanation
for our behavior that would make sense to a police detective. I've
always found it very inconvenient that she is completely immune to
vampire mind control. If she weren't I could convince her you're
really not such a bad guy."

"Yeah, but it wouldn't feel right to mess
with her mind anyway, there's just something about her..." Rook
seemed to struggle for the right words. "Oh hell, I don't know,
forget I said anything. Before I forget to mention it, one of the
wolves, Jasper, lost control when he regained the ability to shift
and mauled a guest. After reviewing the surveillance videos of the
incident I really can't blame him. The man was being an obnoxious
asshole. We covered it up by convincing the guest he was attacked
by a dog during his morning jog on the beach, somewhere off our
property. I've instructed all nightshifters to excuse themselves
and walk away if they feel the slightest twinge from their beasts.
I'm sure with time they will all remember how to control their
other halves, but for now we should err on the side of
caution."

"Agreed."

There was a knock at the door and Rook
crossed the room to let Scarlett in. She seemed nervous, which
upgraded to frightened when she noticed me standing behind
Rook.

She bowed with her hand fisted over her
heart. "My Lord."