Resurrecting Her Dragon (Dragon Guard Series Book 13) (7 page)

“Can you keep the explosions small?” Rian asked.

“Sure. I’ll take the big power station at the rear of the complex. Brann can take the one by the front gate, and Dec, the one by the lake. It’ll be no more than a pop. The griffins won’t know what hit ‘em.” Rory knew Lenn was smiling ear to ear, which made him grin.

“As soon as the power is off, I’ll cut the fence. Juan Carlos, the panthers, and I will go in here.” Rory heard Kell hit the table before continuing. “We all have Claire’s scent. Finding her shouldn’t be a problem as long as everyone else keeps the assholes off our tails.” The steel in Kellan’s voice let Rory know his best friend was in full combat mode. Kell would bring Claire home or die trying.

Be careful, old buddy. No more scars. Wish I could help.

“No problem. Those bastards won’t know what hit ‘em,” Maddox growled.

“Although what the Slades have done is an act of war, we still need to be careful. Their compound is unknown territory,” Rian cautioned.

“Plus we have no idea what they are truly capable of,” Pearce added.

“So it’s agreed. We get in, get Miss Featherstone, and get out. Only take out those who get in your way. Don’t go looking for a fight but don’t back down from one either. Yes?” Max’s question was more of a command. Rory had no doubt the ensuing silence was filled with heads nodding in agreement with the King.

“What about...” Kayne never got to finish his question as Niall’s shout of “I’ve got it! I’ve got it! I’ve got it!” was followed by the sound of running feet and the slamming of doors.

A collective “What?” filled the room as Niall rambled off a list of herbs.

“Calysta hand me those ephedra leafs and the bitter orange extract. We’re going to combine it with cayenne and caffeine.” Niall was nearly shouting as he issued orders.

“But those will raise his heart rate.” If possible, Calysta sounded more worried.

“I know!” Niall shouted, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I’m sorry for my outburst but we don’t have much time. I just hung up with Siobhan and she agrees with me. We’ve been looking at this all wrong. We thought slowing down Rory’s heartbeat would slow the spread of the poison, which is true, at least from what we can tell. And if the griffins hadn’t interfered and Miss Featherstone was here all would be fine, but I fear we don’t have that kind of time. Or better yet, I’m not willing to risk it if I can do something to help. So, when you mentioned sedating him again it made me think of his dragon and that was when I realized how wrong we’d been. Not only are we sedating Rory, but we’re also sedating the dragon within. The beast cannot fight the herbs with Rory in human form, which means he stays drugged longer and cannot help our boy. Without the dragon magic, he has no hope of healing himself. Therefore, I believe we need to stimulate his heart. Push the sedatives out of both man and dragon and allow them to fight the poison together.”

“Makes sense. What was it you needed again?” Calysta asked with a renewed hope in her tone. It almost made Rory feel better had he not been trying to wake the beast for four straight days.

There was a shuffling of feet then Niall asked, “Do I have your permission, Rian and Royce?

“Absolutely,” Rian quickly answered.

“Hell, yes. Do whatever you need to do to fix him. I can’t believe I’m gonna say this but I miss his smart ass mouth,” Royce chuckled as the room erupted in laughter.

It took less than a minute before Rory could hear Niall muttering to himself, along with the clang and clatter of what he could envision was both the Healer and the Grand Priestess working together to make the serum they believed would help him. It wasn’t long before Rory felt Niall’s hand on his arm, followed by the harsh scent of alcohol as it assaulted his nose, accompanied by the cool sensation of a damp cotton ball washing his upper arm.

“Listen to me, Rory O’Reilly. I brought you into this world and I’ll be damned if you leave it before I do. I promised your parents. Now, don’t make me a liar,” Niall whispered as the needle entered Rory’s arm.

Warmth spread through his veins. He could feel the herbs traveling across his chest, down his torso, and through his extremities. His fingers and toes tingled. His heart beat faster and faster like a runaway train. The pounding filled his consciousness. Bright lights popped in large flower-like bursts behind his eyes. He felt hot and then cold and then hot again.

The muscles in his arms and legs flexed in time to the beating of his heart. His breathing sped until he was panting as if he’d just finished running a marathon. He could hear Niall and Calysta monitoring his condition. Their voices a mere echo against the constant pounding of his heart.

“His heart rate is too high. We need to give him the sedative,” Calysta screamed.

“No!” Niall shouted. “Give it time. Rory’s strong. He can take it.”

The fireworks exploding in Rory’s head slid in and out of focus. His world began to spin. He fought against the wave of nausea overtaking him. Trying to stop the motion and gain some semblance of control over his body only made his heart rate spike. Black dots drowned out the fireworks as he struggled to draw his next breath. The feeling of falling off of a cliff overtook the Guardsman as his vision narrowed to a single dim pinpoint of light.

Screaming in his own mind, Rory knew the end was near. The warmth that seconds ago had spread throughout his veins now felt like the icy fingers of death. Pictures of his family and friends rolled through his single point of vision like a movie of his life, concluding with Claire’s beautiful face right before his body began to shake.

Uncontrollable convulsions racked his lifeless body. More hands than he could count covered his arms, legs, and torso, holding him to the table. Shouts of confusion and fear filled his ears.

“What’s happening?!” Rian shouted.

“Is he still breathing?!” Royce bellowed.

“You will not die!” Niall roared.

“Rory, you stupid son of a bitch. Don’t you dare,” Kell yelled.

“Let me near his heart,” Kayne commanded.

The youngest O’Reilly brother tried to make out the rest but one sound overrode all the others. The sweet, soft sound of his mother’s voice surrounded by the scent of the flowers she’d always grown in her garden...

“It is not your time, my son. Reach deep. Feel the power of our ancestors and of Lugh. Wake the dragon and live.”

No sooner had the words floated across his mind than light as bright as the sun burst into view, setting him ablaze from the inside out. Through the fire he felt tiny pieces of himself knitting back together. The chaos receded. He was able to draw a long, deep breath. His heart slowed to its normal cadence. His body calmed. Floating back to reality, Rory thanked the Heavens, the ancestors, and his mother for his life. A miracle had just occurred. It was something he would never forget. Sentimentality wasn’t his thing but in this case, he couldn’t help himself.

“
Mam go raibh maith agat. Mo ghrá thú
.”

He didn’t know how but he could feel his mother smiling down on him. With that all done, there was still one task he hadn’t figured out how to achieve – waking his slumbering beast.

As if hearing Rory’s call, a roar exploded through his consciousness. Fire filled his vision. The sparkle of royal blue and iridescent green scales came into view while pushing against the underside of his skin. His muscles flexed as the strength of his beast burst into his every cell. The talons of his dragon elongated, pushing against the nails on his fingers and toes.

White hot dragon magic filled both man and beast, attacking the inky black blobs of poison and chasing them from their system. Rory felt the taint drain from his body. It all happened so quickly he shook his head at all the hours he’d wasted lying helpless, but there was no time for lollygagging. His dragon roared again. This time more forcefully and infinitely more commanding. He was awake and demanding to see their mate.

Calm down tiger. I gotta get us off this table first. 

Another roar, another flash of fire, and a chuff of impatience was all the preparation Rory got as an influx of power and endorphins flooded his system. The old boy meant business. The Guardsman’s eyes popped open. He gasped a huge breath of antiseptic clinic air and sprang into a sitting position, chuckling. “I hear y’all are planning a war without me.”

Stunned silence and shocked looks was the ‘welcome back to life’ he got. For three full seconds Rory stared at his friends and family as they tried to come to terms with his miraculous recovery. Along with his health had come his enhanced senses. He could hear their thoughts of disbelieve. Feel their hope that they weren’t dreaming or imagining that he was really sitting up and speaking.

Tired of waiting, Rory did the only thing he could think of to ease their fears...he cracked another joke. “Did you ever hear the one about the dumbass dragon who was bitten by a hellhound?”

A
fter the initial shock wore off, everyone had a good laugh. Rory must’ve answered the question, “you could really hear
everything
that was going on around you?” a hundred times. It seemed his brethren weren’t as cool with their touchy-feelies as they tried to act.

Yep! I’ve got enough ammunition for years of the best jokes ever.

After Niall shooed everyone out of the clinic, it took several hours before the old Healer and Calysta would deem Rory ready to reenter society. They were concerned about the huge red handprint Kayne had left on his chest while healing Rory with the power of the Sun or Lugh or whatever the hell it was. It seemed the demi-god didn’t know his own strength. The youngest O’Reilly brother tried to be upset about his new ‘tattoo’, which by the way, was over his heart and just under the head of his dragon marking, which took up the better part of his chest. But since it had saved his life he figured he could live with it.

Kayne apologized over and over. Rory laughed out loud at the look of surprise on the demi-god’s face when he said, “Instinct just took over. I had no clue what was happening. One minute you were convulsing and the next I was reaching for your heart. Guess dear old Dad really wanted you to meet Claire. She always has been his favorite.”

There’s a story there I’m gonna need to hear later...  

As the Elder Healer and Grand Priestess checked him over from head to toe and inside and out more times than he was entirely comfortable with, Rory reached through their mating bond in an attempt to contact Claire. It surprised him how comfortable it felt; almost second nature to share his heart and soul with her. His dragon chuffed in agreement, adding to the power of their bond.

I swear if Slade has touched a hair on her gorgeous head I will make sure he dies slowly and very, very painfully.

“Are you sure you don’t have a headache? Any dizziness? Do you see or feel any residual hellhound toxin?” Calysta asked for literally the tenth time.

“Nope. Nothing. I seriously feel better than ever.” Rory tried not to sound irritated but all he could think of, besides Claire, was a shower and to change into his own clothes. Not to mention he was more than ready to kick some griffin ass and get his mate.

“I’m not surprised. I can feel how strong your dragon has become. Seems like Kayne’s jolt of power supercharged you both.” Niall was smiling but Rory could still hear skepticism in his voice.

“What are you not saying, Niall?”

“Nothing, not really. I just have no clue what, if any, side effects come from a jolt of god power. Be careful. Any sign of anything strange or unusual, please give me a call, or better yet, come find me.” Niall’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“You mean stranger than finding out I really do have a mate and she’s a phoenix, which by the way I never really believed existed. Oh, and let’s not forget that she was kidnapped before I even met her and we need to go save her because she was kidnapped while coming to save me.” He chuckled. “If anything stranger than that happens, you’ll be the first person I call, Niall.”

Looking like the surrogate father he’d always been, Niall raised his eyebrows and said, “You know exactly what I mean and don’t think I can’t or won’t still turn you over my knee if need be.”

Rory burst out laughing at the mental image of Niall punishing him. Not that he doubted the elderly dragon would try, it was just that Rory was a good six inches taller and outweighed the healer by at least sixty pounds of muscle.

Throwing his hands in front of him in a sign of surrender, Rory joked, “I got it. I’ll call if anything feels off. Now, can I please get the hell outta dodge.”

Attempting to hold back a grin and failing miserably, Niall chuckled, “Get out of here, you pain in the tail.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” Rory turned on his heel, grabbed a hug from Calysta, and headed for the door hollering, “Thank you,” over his shoulder.

Running all the way home, simply enjoying the fresh air and sunshine he had been so sure he’d never see again, Rory raced in his house, straight up the stairs, and into the shower. The first of splash of warm, clean water on his skin was awesome as he stood under the spray and once again reached out to Claire.

Thick, dark fog and hazy, out-of-focus images straight out of the old B horror movies Declan liked to watch filled their link. Pushing through her dreams, the cloying sweetness of medicinal herbs assaulted his senses. It suddenly all made sense. Slade was keeping Claire drugged to keep her from escaping. The strange mixture of aromatic plants was extremely strong. Just the scent of it had his dragon growling a warning, blowing smoke, and pawing at the ground.

Claire was right and truly pissed as well. Searching for its fire, her phoenix was unable to connect. From his own experience he knew it was the herbs and also knew beyond a shadow of a doubt
that
was Malick’s motivation for using them. Rory had little to no knowledge of the capabilities of a phoenix, but if the images of charred griffins and burning buildings floating through his mate’s mind were any indication of what she could do, he couldn’t wait to see her in action.

Claire? Can you hear me,
mo banphrionsa fiery?