Shared By The Dragon Clan Complete (8 page)

 
CHAPTER
SEVEN

The road was empty. On the other side
of it there were clusters of trees, and the shadows of mountains on horizons
all around. Up in the sky, there was barely a cloud to see. The sun was hot,
but Zane was hotter.

After five
minutes of walking, Stacey could feel her cheeks going red. She was now
thirsty. She hoped that the town wouldn’t be too much further, but was afraid
to ask Zane in fear of upsetting him again.

“You’re
awfully quiet,” he said once enough silence had passed.

“Isn’t that
how you want me to be?”

Zane cleared
his throat. “It’s best you don’t say much around others in the town. But you
can always confide in me, while we’re alone.”

“How much
longer till we’re there?”

“Ten, twelve
minutes.”

“Okay.”

“Why, are you
tired?”

Stacey
shrugged. “A little I guess.”

“Do you want
to rest?”

“No, really.
I’m okay.”

“Good.”

After a
minute or so there was still no sign of the town and Stacey was bored. “So who
are we meeting there?”

“Someone I
know.”

“Are they
going to talk to me?”

“I’d imagine
so.”

“Is there
anything I need to know?”

“Not really.
Just behave normally. I’ll do all the talking.”

“Okay,”
Stacey nodded.

A pause.
“You’re worried about something,” Zane murmured.

“What? No.”

“Yes, you
are.”

“I’m not.”

“What is it?”

Stacey
stopped. She felt exasperated. “I’m just thinking that … I made you mad or
something. And that wasn’t something I wanted to do.”

“Don’t
worry,” Zane said calmly. “You made it right.”

“Are you
sure?”

“Absolutely.”

He pulled her
close to him and then they continued forward.

Cars were now
on the horizon. Stacey could see that they were veering off to a road on the
left, presumably towards the town. She reached down and interlocked her fingers
with Zane, to feel secure. He squeezed back. It was good to know he was there
but Stacey now realized she was feeling less worried that she’d upset Zane
before, and more worried about what laid around the corner for them.

The thought
of being caught by the police again and thrown in jail, wasn’t a thought she
wished to entertain…

The town
approached up ahead. In front of them they took the left road and were careful
to stay well to the side. The forests soon cleared and the road spread out in
different directions. Rural streets with houses stretched along the town’s
perimeter, while shops and businesses had gathered in the centre, and remained
a part of the road they were on. Stacey couldn’t help but feel lost and out of
her depth, even though Zane was leading the way.

“Where are we
going?” she asked him as they passed the town’s entrance sign. “Who have we
come to see here?”

Zane
surprised her by giving a straight answer.

“My brother,”
he said.

CHAPTER
EIGHT

Conrad Hunter, master swordsman and
ex commander of the royal guard, could be found that morning at the front of
his estate, training a small group of mercenaries in the art of sword play. It
was no secret that many shifters couldn’t be killed with ordinary human weapons
such as knives or guns, but with the right sword and enough skill behind it,
man could become a dangerous foe.

Conrad knew
not of his brother’s betrayal of the King, but sensed something was in the air
that day. There was great change coming he was sure, and since his retirement
and seclusion some years ago, change was not something he appreciated.

Even as the
contest of swords carried out in front of him, two students clashing against
one another, Conrad’s eyes had drifted out towards the front gates,
anticipating the arrival. He bowed his head a moment, pondering who or what it
was, or if perhaps he was just a little out of his mind that day.

“Stop,” he
said to the men in combat. “Just stop for now.”

One of them
angrily thrust his sword in the earth, whilst the other backed away.

“I
apologize,” Conrad said. “But that’s enough for today. Something… Something’s
going on. You best be out of here. Please.”

The men
looked at each other, confused, but did not offer any sign of resistance.
Conrad turned to one of his servant hands and signaled for the training area to
be cleaned up. Then he proceeded on foot towards the house.

No sooner had
he opened the door was he greeted by his butler who was in some distress.

“Yes?” Conrad
murmured. “What is it?”

“King Horatio
has died last night,” the butler exclaimed.

“Horatio?
How?”

“According to
the press – he was murdered. By your brother.”

Conrad’s head
tilted slightly. “So. That’s it then.”

“There’s been
a number of calls. I wrote everything down for you in the study.”

“All right.
Thank you.”

“Call if you
need anything, Sir.”

“I know.”

The study was
located on the second floor of the house – towards the right end of the hall
where there weren’t any windows and often grew dark. Conrad went up the stairs
slowly, pondering whether such events were likely to be true. Zane had always
proven himself to be a most loyal and uncompromising servant to the King – much
more so than Conrad had ever been. The King Horatio was unpopular for his
arrogance and immature tempers, but still, it seemed unlikely that would have
been enough to push Zane over the line. If this was true, then he must have had
a very good reason…

Conrad turned
the door to the study and let it swing slowly open. Sitting in a chair against
the left wall was a man in dark robes he immediately recognized. But was not
happy to see.

“So you’ve
been informed, I trust,” the Human Mage declared.

Conrad
surveyed the rest of the room, and then closed the door behind him.

“How long
have you been in here?” Conrad demanded.

“Not long.”

Conrad moved
through the room to take his place behind the desk. The Mage wasn’t looking at
him. Just staring straight ahead.

“What can I
do for you?” Conrad asked.

“There isn’t
too many places I know of where your brother might go,” the Mage stated. “I can
see he’s not here yet, so he must have stayed somewhere else last night.”

“That would
be, the logical assumption.”

“Nevertheless,
should he turn up, I trust you would keep him here for as long as you could.
And then contact me.”

“Turn him
in?”

“Precisely.”

Conrad leaned
back in his chair. “I suppose you think I’m afraid of you.”

“No,” the
Mage chuckled. “Not of me.”

“Who then?”

“I’m not
going to say. As you’ll be aware, it is not every day a Dragon King is
murdered. Much less on Earth. As you can imagine, this has the potential to
rock the boat.”

“I’m sure,
whatever authority you’re flaunting here, would see reason enough that my not
turning in my brother, wouldn’t be a deliberate attempt to subvert justice.”

“They would
see that, would they? They would see reason, for you?”

Conrad shook
his head. “You know as well as I do, any dragon willing to sacrifice his
brother to save his own neck, isn’t worth anything.”

The Human
Mage sighed. “I’m disappointed to hear you say that.”

“Should he
come here, I’m sure you’ll have enough eyes about that you won’t need my
cooperation.”

“But I do,
Conrad. It’s going to be a
while
before any of our otherworldly friends
show up. Horatio didn’t have children. He has no surviving family at all.
In
fact
, I was surprised to discover, that in the event of Horatio’s passing,
the chosen successor for the throne was Zane. Which obviously isn’t going to
happen now.”

“Keep going.”

“You know
what the dragons are like. They’re going to bicker amongst themselves for a
while. Chasing Zane will keep them busy in the meantime, but eventually they’ll
fight it out to find their new leader. It could get very messy.”

“What?
They’re not going to listen to you?”

“Oh, they’ll
only listen to me for as long as I’m saying what they want to hear. Eventually
they’ll figure out they don’t need me. I may be powerful enough to challenge
one or two of them, but … with the island as busy as it is, I’ll be soon
overpowered.”

“Until the
others get here.”

The Mage
stood up. He put his hands on the table. “If they find out that you let your
brother pass through here, that you helped him in any way, the ramifications
will be dire. We’ll get Zane eventually. He cannot run forever. Now if you were
to help us, I would like you to come back to your position as Head Guard.”

“I’m retired.
I chose to leave.”

“There is a
strong chance, if you were to return now, that you could take over as King. The
others might even allow you to stay on. Officially. Providing you have proven
yourself. I don’t have to tell you, how much power, a king has.”

Conrad
stroked his upper lip. “That’s a very interesting offer.”

“Do you
decline or accept?”

CHAPTER NINE

After crossing through many hills and
backstreets, Stacey and Zane were finally out the front of Conrad Hunter’s
estate, peering through the gates.

“So your
brother is rich then?” Stacey asked, eyeing the courtyard.

“I’d say he
lives rather modestly,” Zane remarked.

“Do you guys
get along?”

“We’re
brothers.”

“But are you
like the type of brothers that get along very well, or do you guys have your differences?”

Zane
shrugged. “We’re brothers.”

A man in a
white jacket and dark trousers was moving towards them.

“Is that
him?” Stacey asked.

“No, that’s
just a servant.”

“Oh.
Servants, huh?”

“Come on.
Behave yourself.”

Stacey
flashed a smile. “Sorry.”

The servant
approached the gate and unlocked it. He pushed it open so Zane and Stacey could
enter.

“You remember
me, do you?” Zane asked the servant.

“The Master
knows you’re here,” the servant replied.

“Does he?”

“He saw you
from the window.”

Stacey looked
up to the house and the top windows, where she could make out the dark outline
of someone standing over the garden.

“Well, we
mustn’t keep him waiting,” Zane said. They headed up the courtyard making their
way to the front door. At the foot of the stairs inside the house, the servant
motioned for them to go up, but he remained behind.

While she was
perhaps a little dehydrated from the walk, the air, and the atmosphere inside
the house made Stacey feel somewhat dizzy. She almost reached out to take
Zane’s hand for comfort, but then remembered that would be something he didn’t
want. She was supposed to remain as strong and adult as possible.

The door to
the study was open. Sitting alone behind his desk was a muscular man with
colorful tattoos, wearing a sleeveless shirt. He seemed a bit older than Zane,
maybe by about five years, but other than that their eyes and faces were
similar.

Zane motioned
for me to sit on a chair against the wall, whilst he took the one opposite his
brother.

“Conrad,”
Zane said awkwardly.

“Zane,”
Conrad shot back.

“This is …
Stacey,” Zane said after a moment’s pause.

Did he just
forget my name?
Stacey’s
mind charged.

Conrad looked
at her but didn’t offer any form of greeting.

“Did you hear
the news?” Zane asked.

“I did, as a
matter of fact,” Conrad nodded.

“So as you
can see, I’m in a spot of trouble.”

“Clearly.”

“I thought
you could be of some assistance to me. To … us.”

Conrad half
smiled. “You require a favor.”

“Yes.”

“And what
might that favor be?”

“I need
access to the other realm.”

Conrad’s
mouth dropped. “What? Why do you want to go there?”

“It’s the
only way I’ll be able to clear my name.”

“Are you
saying you’re innocent then, that you didn’t kill the King?”

“No. I did
kill him. But it was a justified kill.”

“I’m not
following you. He was the King. There is no such thing.”

“He wasn’t
the King. He wasn’t Horatio Hurux.”