Blood of the Dragon (Her Dragon's Bane 2) (6 page)

Connor walked behind her, she couldn't bear to look at him, and kept her distance, not trusting herself. She longed to run to him, to drag him out of danger. But they were so close to achieving their goal, all she could hope was that Zoah had received her message and entered the building, and now already had Charlotte safe somewhere. They were about to find out.

Deep breaths. He tried to contain his rage, and outwardly he mastered it, but inwardly he was desperately trying to control the dragon. It squirmed, and clawed at his mind, breathing fire until he thought he would spontaneously combust. How dare this ugly little man inflict pain on his mate.

How dare he, and expect to live.

Before him, Serena stood bravely nursing the bruise on her face. He could see her body trembling, and smell her fear. He cursed Zoah for talking him into this. They should have come alone, him and Zoah, he should have shut Serena in the cellar and left her there safe. Instead he had walked her into this. The woman he loved, the woman who trusted him, had been hurt because of him.

“Tell me, Serena. What was it like to lie with this beast? Did he fuck you until you screamed?”

She lowered her head, and mumbled something.

“I’m sorry,” Samuel shouted. “I didn’t catch that. Did he fuck you long and hard until you begged for mercy.”

“Yes,” she lied.

Samuel laughed. “I bet he did. I expect he enjoyed your virgin body. As I will enjoy it later. Now you don’t have to save yourself for this creature, I’m looking forward to fucking you. Then you can compare us. And one thing I will tell you, I will make you scream more than the dragon did. I know exactly how to hurt a woman.”

She didn’t move, only staring at the floor. He imagined her in this man’s arms and the dragon renewed it’s bid to escape. She was his, never anyone else’s.

He looked sideways, working out how many men were in the large chapel. It had been emptied of pews, but the cross still hung above the altar, and candles still burned in their grates. Twenty, maybe twenty two, some of them were patrolling the back of the church s he couldn’t get a good enough look.

What was Zoah doing? Had he managed to find Charlotte, had he freed her? All these questions ran through his head while he tried to judge what he should do. If he released the dragon now, he was sure he could kill most of them before they got a shot off. It was risky, but he would not let Samuel hurt Serena. Never.

He gathered himself together, mentally preparing for the change to take him. When a hand touched his shoulder lightly. “Slow down there. Give your brother time.”

He turned to see the witch. How had she got so close to him without him sensing her presence. Releasing the tension in his body, he asked, “How do you know?”

“Shhh, now. Play the part of the poor castrated beast. You need to keep up the act for a little while longer.”

“Who are you?”

“The person who’s going to save your ass, and your little mate’s.” A door opened, and she glanced up. “Remember, keep up the act, because this is all about to get real interesting.”

“Charlotte.” Serena watched her sister being brought into the chapel. Her first thought was that she looked well, her second was; where the hell was Zoah?

Serena took a step forward, and Charlotte looked up and saw her sister. Her face brightened, but then she looked to Samuel, and her expression flattened. She shook her head slightly, and Serena knew what that meant. Don’t give Samuel a chance to hurt them.

Her heart dropped, what had happened to Charlotte for her to know Samuel’s moods so well.

“Here is the prize you whored yourself for, Serena.” Samuel stepped towards Charlotte, and it took all Serena’s self-control to stay where she was. If there was a knife in her hand, she would not have thought twice about burying it in his back. Everything would be OK, if only they could get rid of Samuel. His men would probably crumble once the dragons changed without their big chief controlling them.

“I’ve done what you want, Samuel. You promised you would let her go.” Serena tried to sound strong, but her voice was weak with fear.

“And I will. I gave you my word, and I never break it.” He stroked Charlotte’s cheek.

Serena felt sick to her stomach watching him touch her innocent sister. Her frustration at being able to do nothing to get him away from Charlotte almost too much. If she said the wrong thing, he would hurt her sister and then turn it around to make it Serena’s fault. She did not want to give him the satisfaction.

Where the hell was Zoah? She turned all her frustration and anger onto him. If he had done his part then Charlotte would be safe, and Connor would be free to change, and kill Samuel.

“Then she can leave?”

“Soon, but first she’s going to take part in a little experiment.”

Serena watched fear spread over her sister’s face. They both knew what ever he had in mind was not going to be pleasurable. Samuel had never done anything to make another person happy for as long as she had known him.

“Come here, Charlotte. The big bad dragon won’t bite. Much.” He gripped Charlotte’s arm, and when she resisted, he held it so tight his fingers dug into her flesh and she cried out in pain. “If you do as you’re told, then I won’t hurt you.”

He led her to stand in front of Connor. Who still stared blankly ahead, and she admired his control when she felt like falling apart on the spot. They were out of time and out of options.

“But he will.” Samuel’s eyes took in the impressive man standing in front him, more confident now he was inside his own territory, and surrounded by his thugs.

“What are you doing?” Serena ran towards him, but before she got close enough to touch him a hand grabbed her around the throat and shoved her to the ground.

“Tara,” Samuel summoned the witch. “How does this work?”

“You ask him to do your bidding.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes.”

“So if I asked him to beat our dearest Charlotte to a pulp. He would.”

“While he is under the influence of the potion I gave you. Yes.”

“Is that a possible flaw?”

“What?”

“Well what if someone else asks him to do something?”

“Over time he will become conditioned to obey only you.”

“Then let’s start the conditioning.” Excitement laced Samuel’s voice.

“No. You promised you wouldn’t harm my sister.” Serena struggled against the man holding her, and now Charlotte sensed the need to react, pulling away from Samuel.

“You are quite right Serena. I promised I wouldn't harm her. But it’s not me that’s going to do the harming, is it? No, this big bad dragon of yours is going to do it for me.”

Serena could see it all starting to fall apart. Connor would either blow their story, or he would be forced to do unforgivable harm to Charlotte. Damn Zoah for not rescuing her sister before things got this far.

In her peripheral vision the witch caught her attention, she was speaking quietly to Connor. What was she doing? Casting a spell? It was all falling apart, she had brought the man she loved here, and now instead of saving Charlotte, Serena was about to lose them all.

“Stop it, you bitch. How can you help him?” Serena shouted at the witch.

Samuel ignored her, instead dragging Charlotte to the feet of Connor, and making her kneel. But the witch moved, and Serena knew her life was over, if she could cast a spell to control Connor, it would be easy to cast one over a mere human.

“Let me deal with her,” the witch shoved the man holding her away, he didn’t argue. Then the witch bent down, and grabbed Serena by the hair.

Serena fought her off, but the witch was strong, and yanked her up by the hair. And then she whispered in Serena’s ear, “Make this look good, but we have to get behind your beloved dragon.”

“I don’t understand,” Serena said quietly, and then her gaze went back to Samuel.

“What do I say?” Samuel asked the witch.

“Do I have to do everything for you?”she asked, and dragged Serena forward.

She went, but tried to look as though she were struggling against her captor. The whole thing was crazy. Why would the witch help them when she had been helping Samuel to get them here?

“I don’t know what to call him?” Samuel asked.

“Call him what you want, he’s in no state to argue.”

Serena glanced up at Connor, his eyes still contained their vacant expression. She had to trust the witch. Tara had a plan, a plan that involved saving them, and destroying Samuel. Or she was about to perform the ultimate betrayal.

Perhaps they all had the same goal, to get rid of Samuel. Did he have some hold over her too? They had all assumed that she was working for him of her own free will, but what if that wasn't the case, and Connor was her ticket out of here.

Sounding a little self-conscious, Samuel spoke, “Dragon, obey me. Show me how strong you are, and hit this girl as hard as you can.”

Serena couldn’t speak, couldn’t find the words to shout and tell Connor to stop as he raised his hand and his fist flew forward with the force of ten ordinary men.

A sickening thud filled the air, flesh and bone splintering under the force of Connor’s fist. Before Serena could react Tara gripped her arm, and hurled her behind Connor. She skidded to a stop, turning to see what was happening. In a blur Connor shimmered into his dragon, as gunfire rang out. She ducked her head, and curled up into a ball, but a hand touched her again.

“Come on, we have to move. If we stay here we’re dead.” Tara ran, dragging Charlotte behind her, and Serena staggered to her feet and followed. “In here.”

She opened a door, and slipped in, half carrying Charlotte. Serena still tried to fathom what was happening, but didn’t ask until they had shut the door behind them, and retreated to the furthest corner of the small room. Outside the smell of charred flesh and men screaming filled the air.

“Handy thing to have in your corner, those dragons.” She released Charlotte, Serena went to her, and hugged her tightly.

“I was so scared for you,” Serena said, kissing her sister’s head.

“Hey, Sis. You have to let me breathe.”

“Sorry,” Serena said, releasing her a little, but still clinging to her as though she might disintegrate into nothing of she let her go. “I just never thought we’d get out of this alive.”

“Well, let’s hope we do. Those dragons still have to survive the bullets, and I’m sure there are some big guns in one of those back rooms. But I’ve done what I can for them,” Tara said.

“I don’t understand,” Serena asked at last. “Why are you helping us?”

“Out of the goodness of my own heart. You know, the power of true love and all that.”

Serena couldn’t see her face clearly, but she knew Tara was trying to be funny.

“You used us?”

“OK. Hit me in the heart why don’t you. You could thank me for saving your hides.”

“I would if it wasn’t for the fact I believe we are all here because of you in the first place. You told Samuel about the dragons. Why?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Excuse me?” Serena said getting up and going to stand in front of Tara. “Samuel has controlled me, threatened me and beaten me, and you say it’s none of my business?”

“Look. I’m a seer. I see things. So what if I told you that I saw you were the dragon's mate, and the only way you ended up together is this way.”

“You couldn’t have just told me?”

She laughed. “And you’d have believed me? Oh, yes, I can see it now. A dragon’s mate you say? Well of course I’ll just trot on over there and be his virgin sacrifice.”

She had a point, but there was no way Serena could condone what Tara had put them through. “And getting Samuel involved was the only way?”

“Sort of. Listen, there’s a lot more to it than you and your dragon. So I had to take all those things into account. And this gift of mine is a prediction of the future, you start messing with it and things go awry.”

“What things?” Serena asked, but she knew Tara wasn’t going to share. “I expect whatever these things are they work in your favour.”

“That would depend on Zoah.”

“Zoah? What’s he got to do with all this?”

“I gave him the details of what he had to do to get you all in here.” She looked closely at Serena. “Oh. He didn’t tell you did he? I wondered why none of you were up to speed.”

“No, he didn’t.” Serena couldn’t work out why Zoah hadn’t shared this information. But she didn’t have time to question Tara any further, the smoke coming under the door was choking.

“Does that dragon of yours have an off switch?” Tara asked, hurrying to the door. She pulled it open, and Serena began calling Connor, but he was too caught up in his destruction to notice her.

Louder she shouted, waving her arms. He turned, and came towards her, but a man got in the way. A man with a very big gun.

The blood rage overtook him. It had been centuries since he had killed so many men. But he reasoned it was self-defence. If he hadn’t set their bodies on fire they would have killed him, and then Serena.

Through all of this he still held onto the pleasure he had experienced when his fist had broken Samuel’s face. The look of shock when Connor’s fist had changed direction at the final second and hit him instead of Charlotte. Intermingled with this was Serena’s shocked expression, she had truly thought he was about to beat her sister.

He breathed in, and then spewed fire out again, his tail lashing out at the men trying to out flank him. More bodies piled up, but still more live ones ran through the door to join their comrades. He had thought with Samuel out of the picture they would have downed arms, but no such luck. So he was forced to fight, and it soon became apparent that this was a fight for his life, he was outnumbered, and out gunned.

A line of men with machine guns started towards him, their bullets a constant spray upon his scales. If they got much closer they were going to start doing damage, but he couldn’t turn and breathe fire at them yet, he had to deal with two men who had got close enough to aim at his belly. It took several minutes to make fire again. He was out of practice at this, and it showed.