Shared By The Dragon Clan Complete (25 page)

CHAPTER TWO

Now Zane really was gone. Just walked
up the courtyard and disappeared into the manor without further incident.
Stacey could hardly believe it. She almost felt betrayed. Now this monster
could do whatever he liked with her, and Zane wouldn’t be able to stop it.

Would he…?

Quraal was
looking her up and down. Checking her out.

Stacey felt
sick.

The Mage
stepped forward to join his master’s side. “You don’t really believe he’s
organizing a meeting with the human leaders, do you?”

Quraal turned
to him. “What would you otherwise suggest he’s doing? Plotting some type of
escape? No. Zane knows he’s been defeated. His only way to continue to live
with his pride is to side with me. As long as he has his bride here, I doubt he
cares very much what happens to the other humans.”

“What if he
attempts to go to the otherworld? And seeks the help of the remaining Dragon
Masters?”

“If you think
they would help him, you’re even stupider than I thought,” Quraal scoffed.

“I’m just
being cautious, Master.”

“Hmm. Well…”

Quraal
slapped a palm to Stacey’s back. “Take her and the others with you back to the island.
He won’t see her again until we can be completely sure he is on our side. Do
you think you can handle that, Mage?”

“Yes,
Master,” the Mage said gruffly.

Quraal pushed
Stacey into the Mage and then kicked his feet into the grass, spraying Dennis
and Jasmine. “Out of here, the lot of you.”

The Mage
grabbed hold of both Stacey and Dennis leading them a short distance from their
space in the centre of the garden. He stopped after a moment and looked back to
make sure Jasmine was following. Then he took a piece of glowing chalk from his
pocket and began to draw a door in the earth below.

CHAPTER
THREE

Zane stood in Conrad’s study, looking
through the window out to the courtyard. He watched as The Mage’s drawing in
the ground emitted a pulsating, colorful light around its borders. Stacey and
her friends were one by one escorted into the portal. Before Stacey herself
disappeared she looked back out to the manor, and seemed to make eye contact
with him. Her face was distraught.

How did it
come to this…?
The
prickly thought rose from the back of Zane’s mind.

Soon enough
her face was bowed away from him, and she vanished with the others out of
sight.

Zane should have
known Quraal would use Stacey to ensure he kept his word. Of course, on the
surface he had known what would happen, but now that it had unfolded in front
of him, there tingled the beginnings of despair.

Was Zane to
keep his word then? Or was there some way Quraal could be defeated that
wouldn’t put Stacey at risk?

The Dark
Dragon was now making his way towards the manor. Zane turned from the window
and quickly picked up the telephone. He dialed the number to the Human / Dragon
Affairs centre, and asked to be put through to the managing director.

“This is Zane
Hunter,” he rasped breathlessly. “Commander of the Firebound Dragon Guard. Our
leader wishes to meet with you and your associates tonight, to discuss a very
sensitive matter...”

The director
received his opening with a polite and courteous exchange.

Zane looked
up after a few moments during the call, and saw that Quraal was already
standing in the doorway. As he put the phone back on the desk, his superior
demanded to know what had come of the call.

“The Director
of Human / Dragon Affairs has agreed to meet with us,” Zane murmured.

“And who else
are you planning on calling?”

Zane had
become completely still. Parts of his face were numb.

Quraal
stepped forward.

“You were
just trying to buy time, weren’t you? As The Mage suspected?”

Zane’s jaw
dropped. “I – well –”

Quraal
approached him, and set his hands on Zane’s shoulders. Squeezed tightly.

“Look at me,”
the Dark Dragon said. “Look into my eyes.”

Zane looked.

Flashes of
red and purple jumped out from his hypnotic gaze.

“I may
disobey the Masters, and refute dragon law, but I am not evil,” Quraal
whispered. “No, no, no, no, no. That’s only what they say about me. Because
they fear me. Because I am more powerful than them. The reason for my powers
has nothing to do with good or evil. They were born out of talent. Skill.
Courage and determination. In my first life, I did things. I pushed harder than
any dragon ever before.”

“You engage
in sorcery,” Zane replied. “The same kind used by demons and witches from the
otherworld.”

“Stories,”
Quraal countered. “Just stories.”

“You raped my
bride-to-be’s best friend.”

“Was I the
first dragon, to take a human against her will?”

Suddenly
Quraal violently pushed Zane backwards, so that he landed in the chair behind the
desk and crashed into the wall.

When Zane
looked up from the fall, he felt an aching anger inside.

“The humans
are your enemy. They want to imprison your bride to be so that she isn’t able
to walk the earth freely. And she didn’t even do what they accused her of.”

“What do you
know about that?” Zane barked sharply.

“She was set
up. Framed for the murder.”

“By who?”

Quraal
smiled. “Come then. I will show you.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Stacey, Jasmine and Dennis landed on
the rock hard surface of Firebound Palace’s dungeon, with the Human Mage right
behind them. A cloud of black dust was sent through the air and Dennis started
coughing rapidly. Stacey was able to hold her breath through it.

“How did we
get here?” Jasmine said, frightened. “What the hell is this?”

“Quiet,” the
Mage said, slapping the back of her head.

“Hey,” Dennis
wheezed. “Leave my sister alone.”

“Or what?”

“Or I’ll tell
my future husband,” Jasmine challenged.

The Mage went
pale. “I apologize. My hand slipped.”

He went to
the wall opposite and unlocked a sturdy wooden door. It creaked as it opened,
revealing a dirty and wet pathway to various cells.

“I’ll let you
all in the same cell together. So you have company,” the Mage said. “But if you
make this difficult I’ll see to it that you’re put into different cells.”

Stacey pushed
her way past Jasmine and Dennis to stand in front of him. Her hands were
fastened to her hips. “Why don’t you just let us go?”

The Mage
shook his head. “You can’t honestly think –”

He was
interrupted as Stacey’s foot slammed into him, knocking him back into the cell
room. Dennis and Jasmine quickly scrabbled to help Stacey close the door.

The Mage
cried out angrily and tried to force the door open, but it wouldn’t budge.
Stacey found a lever and unleashed a series of bolts which kept the door
fastened and locked.

The three of
them took a step back.

“Come on,”
Stacey said, grabbing Jasmine’s wrist. “Before he gets a chance to ‘magic’ his
way out of there.”

They ran
towards a staircase on the other side of the chamber, and followed it up to the
top where there was a door which led out of the dungeon and into the palace.

Stacey didn’t
look back to see if the Mage was coming.

They made
their way quickly through an empty guard room, and proceeded through a hallway
which gave them space and numerous directions they could travel. Stacey tried
to recall if she had been in this part of the palace. She believed she had.

“Where to?”
Jasmine asked.

Dennis stared
at her earnestly.

“Over there,”
Stacey pointed. “I think it leads to the throne room.”

They followed
the archway through the hallway adjacent and after a few turns and bends, they
arrived at the throne room as Stacey guessed they would. She could now see the
ridges of moonlight on the outskirts of the opposite side.

The three of
them continued running and without incident came to the courtyard outside
Firebound Palace. Stacey motioned for them to stop so everyone could catch
their breath.

“Is he even
following us?” Dennis demanded, looking back.

“Maybe he
didn’t get out,” Jasmine suggested.

Without
warning, a surge of electrical light lit up the ground before them, and each of
the three friends was forced into a crouching position to avoid touching the
mass of energy above them.

The Mage was
now with them again, although he had not caught them from behind, but from the
front.

“Did you
really think you could outrun me?” the Mage demanded.

He stopped in
front of the circle around them, his feet just in front of Stacey. How she
wished to lunge at him.

“I ought to
punish the lot of you,” the Mage scolded.

Stacey’s eyes
searched for her friends behind her, wondering if anyone had an opportunity for
escape.

It seemed
unlikely now.

“That’s
enough Patrick,” a deep voice said from the shadows.

Stacey’s eyes
darted again. She recognized that voice.

Out stepped
her friend inside the security team that had first brought her to the island,
the dark skinned man with sunglasses, Walter.

CHAPTER FIVE

Zane stepped away from the bottom of
the stairs and into the middle of the living room where Quraal was seated. In
front of Quraal was a circular glass table. As Zane stood over him, he
whispered a few words under his breath and then touched the table with two
fingers. The reflection in the glass wobbled, as though it were made of water.
Then it became alive with the image focused on a dark nighttime road.

“What is
this?” Zane demanded.

“I’m about to
show you the missing footage captured from the night of your bride-to-be’s alleged
crime.”

Zane looked
into the table carefully. He could see that opposite the other side of the road
was the old apartment building Stacey used to live.

“I’m supposed
to trust what I’m seeing here?” Zane scoffed. “This isn’t video capture. It’s
an illusion you’ve created.”

Quraal turned
his head slightly. “I wouldn’t go to such lengths to convince you of what I’m
about to show you here, if it weren’t true. The matter is irrelevant to me.”

Zane leaned
over him. He saw there was a dark van approaching the footpath. Several men
dressed in black were departing it.

Another
camera angle was displayed, showing the men moving towards the front of the
building.

“That’s the
security team in charge of prisoner exchange,” Zane remarked.

They moved to
the front entrance and opened the door there.

In total,
Zane counted six men.

Cut to the
next camera angle. The video feed displayed two of the men entering the
building and inspecting the ground floor. They moved from one side all the way
to the end and then back again. They appeared to communicate with the guards
outside, and then they stalled. Motionless.

Waiting for
something or somebody.

The camera
moved outside again. A large figure was getting out of the van.

Zane’s eyes
squinted. He couldn’t make out the man’s face yet.

The camera
then cut back to the inside camera and he saw the large man enter the building.
Zane blinked a few times, but his eyes did not deceive him.

It was
Horatio Hurux, the King of Firebound Island.

CHAPTER SIX

Stacey watched in horror as Walter
stepped around the electrical force-field to stand with the Mage. The pair
faced them and she knew it at once – they were working together.

“What’s going
on?” Stacey demanded. “Is this all some type of conspiracy or something?!”

“Not
exactly,” Walter replied.

His head
tilted in the Mage’s direction.

The Mage muttered
something and waved his hand. The force-field vanished.

Jasmine and
Dennis joined Stacey to her feet.

“This man has
been working with us undercover,” Walter explained. “He doesn’t mean to harm
any of you. And neither do I.”

“Are you
gonna get us the fuck out of here?” Dennis asked.

“Yes,” Walter
replied. “Right away.”

“Just a
second,” Stacey interrupted, approaching Walter and the Mage. “I’m not buying
this undercover thing. I’ve seen him –”

“We are aware
of Professor Hess’s actions,” Walter said. “They were government sanctioned.”

“But he’s
tried to have Zane killed! So many times –”

Walter put
his hands on Stacey’s shoulders. “And he saved your life. More times than you
would ever readily know.”

“Him,” Stacey
gasped, furious. She pointed at the Mage. “
Him
?”

“Remember
Evelyn?” the Mage said. “You think you killed her by yourself?”

“That was to
frame me!”

“It was to
save your life.”

Stacey shook
her head. “Bullshit.”

The Mage
walked forward. He tapped Walter on the arm so that he would release his grip on
Stacey.

“Remember how
Quraal was about to rape you? Perhaps even murder you?”

“That was
Zane who saved me,” Stacey cursed. “Don’t you dare take credit for that.”

“Zane was
rotting away in a dungeon. I cast a temporary paralysis spell over him and gave
him the portal right into the apartment where you and your friend were being
held captive. He only saved you because I allowed him to.”

Jasmine went
to Stacey’s side as she almost fell over in shock.

“Why don’t
you just leave her alone?” Jasmine spat at the Mage. “Just leave us alone.”

“And I saved
you, just now,” the Mage continued. “All three of you have been released from
the Dark Dragon’s custody.”

Stacey looked
up to Walter in the moonlight.

“Explain how
any of this makes sense,” she said.

“I will,”
Walter said. “And for now you’re coming with me. We’re going to leave the island.”

“You better
take care of this tonight,” the Mage hissed. “That monster will be after me
when he finds out what I’ve done.”

“Your cover
will be kept intact, I assure you.”

The Mage
nodded. He turned away into the darkness.

Walter faced
the three of them.

“Now, I think
it’s about time we leave. Don’t you?”