Saved By Her Dragon (7 page)

The little witch turned and paced. “I could just kick myself
for not thinking that it could be magical when you first told
me
about her, but I was so wrapped up in
Calysta’s shit that I figured she was human and it was a human
problem, but Dev…she isn’t human. Well, not completely human any
way. I’m not sure what she is but I do know it’s good and pure,
nothing dark or evil about your girl.”

She
walked towards him and he saw the love and concern in her eyes.
When she grabbed his free hand, she squeezed for a second and
looked him right in the eye. “I’m no doctor and I understand that
moving her probably took a lot, but I truly think we need to get
started right away. Call Sam and make sure it’s cool physically and
all that. I’ll head down and see what havoc my hubs and the rest of
the crew are causing. You holler when you decide.”

Kyra dropped his hand and hugged his neck then looked at his
mate, touching her arm just above where his hand held hers. Devon
could feel the little push of love and magic that Kyra gave her. It
made his heart swell to know that his ‘family’ was already growing
to care for her as much as he was. He watched Kyra go and sent a
real quick thought to Royce,
“Kyra’s the
best. You’re damn lucky, Bro.”

His answer made Devon smile,
“Don’t I
know it, Brother. Don’t I know it.”

He had
almost forgotten his mother was in the room until she appeared at
his side. Concern flowed from her fingerstips where they rested on
his shoulder, prompting Devon to ask, “What do you think we should
do?”

Siobhan took a moment to answer and when she did, he was glad
he had asked. “I will tell you what I told Kyra. When I focus on
your mate I feel strength and courage and a desire to emerge from
the cocoon she has been forced into. I have yet to feel any real
consciousness that I can use to try to communicate with her, but
she
is
in there and
her spirit longs to be free. I think we should proceed. You and I
will stay linked to your mate in every way we can to make sure she
is okay, and Kyra will do what she does best…locate the magic and
the sorcerer.”

Devon
nodded as his mother spoke, internally agreeing with every word she
said. He took the cell phone from his pocket and called Sam, glad
she answered right away. “Hey, Dev. I was just thinking about you
guys. How’s everything?”

He quickly explained what he, Kyra, and his mother had talked
about. Samantha readily agreed and said she, Lance, and Sydney
would be there within the hour. After thanking her and
disconnecting the call, Devon told his mother it was a go and
called to his brethren,
“Royce, tell Kyra
we’re ready.”

The older Guardsman answered immediately,
“She heard. She’s on her way.”

Before
he could respond, the tap of the little witch’s boots against the
hardwood of his mother’s floors could be heard heading his way.
Kyra rushed through the door, she and Siobhan immediately becoming
engrossed in clearing the large dressing table across the room for
all their supplies. Devon stayed with his mate, telling her what
was about to happen and assuring her that he would be right by her
side every step of the way.

In less
than an hour, all the members of his Force that were in attendance,
along with their mates and children, were assembled, and the time
had come to begin the ritual. Devon, Siobhan, Royce, Rayne, Kyndel,
Lance, Sam, and Sydney formed a circle around his mate. Kyra moved
around the room, chanting in Latin and magically lighting the
hundred or so candles that adorned every available surface. She
then walked the entire circle, sprinkling what he recognized as
thyme, which she explained was a feminine herb used for healing,
while she spoke an incantation in English that closed the
circle.

He watched as she pulled a deep indigo candle and the heirloom
mirror he knew she used for scrying from the brown leather
messenger bag that was slung across her body. Kyra handed the
mirror to Royce, lit the candle, and asked everyone to focus their
attention and energy on the flame. She then asked the Goddess to
reveal the spell that was holding his mate captive and to show her
the face of the one that had cast it. Time slowed and minutes felt
like hours, but finally he saw recognition in the witch’s eyes and
watched as she mouthed,
“Fuck!”

From
there things moved very quickly. Kyra seemed to fly around the
circle, handing each person an antique silver pill box filled what
she explained was rosemary, thyme, and cinnamon; herbs that
promoted strength of memory, healing and well-being. She went on to
say that the Uncrossing Spell would break the hold of the offending
magic. True to her words, it was mere minutes from the time that
she returned to her spot next to Royce and spoke the words of the
spell that Devon could actually feel a weight being lifted from the
room. The flames of all the candles dimmed and then shot up before
returning to normal.

Kyra
threw salt on the scrying mirror and gently placed a large silver
disc with what he recognized as black tourmaline, often used for
its protective qualities, embedded in three intertwined circles on
its surface on his mate’s chest. She spoke words from a language he
could only guess was as old as time and every candle in the room
was extinguished, leaving them standing in total
darkness.

Devon
stood completely still, praying to the Universe that all had gone
as planned. Kyra’s hand on his shoulder caused him to jump as she
took the pill box from his hand and placed it in a ratty old burlap
bag. With his enhanced eyesight, he watched as she did the same
with every person in the circle, then gathered the amulet from his
mate’s chest and shoved it into the bag as well. After uttering a
phrase in Latin, she used the toe of her boot to break the circle
of thyme and turned back towards the group.

“We’re
almost done. You guys have been great. We just need to go to
Siobhan’s Blackthorn tree, burn all of the talisman, and bury them
under its roots. Follow me, please.”

Kyra headed out the door, holding the burlap sack in front of
her like trash as they all followed. Devon called to Aaron, who had
opted to hang out in the kitchen during the ritual,
“Can you go up and stay with her while we finish
this?”

“Gotcha covered,”
was his quick
response.

“Thanks.”

Devon
was sure his mate would be fine and Kyra had said before they began
that it would take some time after the spell was removed for his
mate to wake, but he still didn’t want to take the chance that her
first glimpse of her new life would be while she was alone and
frightened in a strange place. He knew Aaron would call to him if
anything changed and take care of her until he could get
back.

Kyra had
them form a circle around the tree, said a quick incantation,
poured kerosene on the bag, and lit it ablaze. It took less than
two minutes for the bag to be reduced to nothing more than a pile
of ash. Devon was sure it was because of her intense magical power,
not to mention the healthy dose of kerosene she had used. Royce dug
a small hole, brushed the pile of ash into the hole, and covered it
again.

Devon
had to hold back his laughter as Kyra jumped up and down on the
overturned soil and spoke in Latin. He was glad to see the smirks
on Lance and Royce’s face that mirrored his own. When the time was
right, he planned to ask her if jumping helped with the magic or if
it was just because she was so petite. It was not that he didn’t
respect her ability; it was just a crazy sight to see a
five-foot-two, platinum-blonde witch jumping up and down chanting
in the moonlight. When she stopped and walked towards Royce, Devon
saw her grin and knew she thought it was funny too.

“Can you all please join hands?” Kyra asked right before she
prayed,
“Thank you to the Goddess of All,
whom without your goodness and light we would be lost and alone.
Thank you to the Universe for your great wisdom and the life that
flows through us. Thank you to the Heavens above, below, and all
around for providing us with the proof of yesterday, the reality of
today, and the hope of tomorrow. Blessed be.”

Everyone repeated,
“Blessed
be.”

“Okay,
you crazy kids. Let’s go get something to eat and we can
discuss…”

Kyra’s next words were drowned out as a scream tore through
the air. Devon’s heart felt as though it was in a vice as
“Please help me! He’s gonna kill me this
time!”
rang through his head.

She floated towards consciousness and
knew
it was different this time. Her
mind was clear, more focused, and thankfully…
without the damn black fog
. It was as
if the sun had decided to shine after being hidden for so long. She
knew the surface was quickly approaching and with it came the first
deep breath she had taken in what seemed like an eternity. Her
entire being was filled with the fresh, crisp scent of a summer
storm combined with sea and sun. It was
his
scent, and although she had no
idea who
he
was,
her heart recognized him as important. Her mystery man had talked
to her, held her hand and kissed her forehead when she was lost,
alone and terrified in those sparse moments when the fog had
receded. Every other moment was nonexistent. There was
just…
nothing
and
she was left feeling empty, except for…
him
.

When her eyes opened, she was pleased to confirm that she no
longer inhabited the cramped dormitory style room at the mansion of
the wizard that kidnapped her as well as many others. Even better,
she was nowhere near the empty field where they had trained them to
work terrible magic. It was the training that had landed her in the
horrible black nothingness…hopeless and helpless for days, weeks,
months…
How long have I been
out?

Not ready to think of anything but the fact that her eyes were
actually open, that she could
see
something
, she focused on
the pale yellow walls and beautiful floral paintings that adorned
much of the available space. Everything was bright and happy. Hope
infused the very air she breathed; it was even in the light of the
small crystal lamp and white candle burning at her
bedside.

She shook her head slightly, causing her nose to make contact
with the pillow. Once again the wonderful scent of her rescuer
filled her senses with hope and her heart with longing. It was
unclear how she knew he was responsible for her return to the land
of the living, but deep inside, she just
knew
. Testing her mobility, she rolled
her head to the other side and felt only the slightest twinge of
sore muscles in her neck. Spying the half-opened door, she listened
to the happy conversation coming from the other side. No more
grumbling, anger, and fear; it was a blessed change from the recent
past. Resuming her inspection of her surroundings, she saw more
candles - pink, silver, and black–lit throughout the room, and
smelled what she thought were spices. The candles and scents were
familiar, but for some reason her brain failed to latch on to the
memory.

The
harder she tried to remember, the farther away the recollection
floated. She closed her eyes and focused, but still nothing came.
The sound of approaching footsteps jarred her from her thoughts as
anticipation built. She was finally going to see the man who had
given her faith that she would wake up and the strength to survive
the black fog. She took a deep breath as the breeze from the
opening door touched her arm, loving the feel of freedom. One more
deep breath and her eyes opened of their own volition, no longer
willing to wait. It seemed they were even more ready than her to
see their hero. Instead, the sight before her tore the breath from
her lungs and caused her heart to beat with such force that she was
sure it would burst from her chest. Unwilling to be held captive
again, she searched for a way to escape or anything to use as a
weapon.

When she
came up empty handed, she did the only thing she could…she
screamed–as loud and as long as she could. Then she prayed that
someone would save her from the repeat of her past torment. Curling
into a ball and shoving herself against the headboard in the
farthest corner of the bed, she continued to scream, both aloud and
in her head. The startled man before her threw out his hands and
slowly backed away, shaking his head and saying something she
couldn’t make out over her own shrieks.

Feeling
light-headed from lack of oxygen, her screaming died out, but only
long enough to draw another breath. The sound of thundering
footsteps heading in her direction caused her to pause. Fear piled
on top of fear and threatened hysteria, leaving her paralyzed. One
glance at the stranger told her that he was in the exact same spot
and just as confused as she, which made no sense, but nothing had
in so long she had stopped expecting it. The sound of splintering
wood drew her attention as the door bounced off the wall. All she
saw was a blur before she was enveloped in pair of extremely warm,
extremely strong arms. One breath and the unmistakable scent of a
summer storm filled her lungs, easing her panic.