Heart Of The Dragon (Her Dragon's Bane 3) (11 page)

“We are leaving now. You have to stay here until we’re gone. If you follow, I will tie your wrists again. Do you understand?”

She nodded. “I understand.” The last thing she needed was to have her wrists bound again. “And what then?”

“Then you try to find your way out. Without waking the beast. He has been waiting a long time for a human to come down into his labyrinth.”

“Labyrinth,” she repeated. Her mind reeled through its store of information, knowing that should mean something to her. But when she looked up, they had disappeared. Leaving her alone in the dark.

“A labyrinth. What lives in a labyrinth?” she asked herself quietly. Looking around at the high stonewalls; she tried to decide which way to go. Taking her first tentative step forward, she walked back along the pathway she was sure they had come down. Then the path split, and she had no idea which way to go.

“Where is Serena?” he asked, and again his question was met by the blank stare of Dòmhnall. He planted his feet firmly apart. “I refuse to move unless you tell me what is going on. I allowed her to leave with Kier and Arran, but I need to know where they are going.”

“If you want to finish this, you have to forget about her for a while. She will meet up with you after she has succeeded in her part of this trial. Then you will face the final phase together.”

“Are you going to give me any clue about what that is?”

“Not a clue. No. I’m going to show you exactly what you are going to be up against.”

“No games?”

“No games.” Dòmhnall stood looking out to sea. They had walked along a sandy beach and now clambered over big rocks and boulders. “Soon you will know your fate.”

He jumped down onto a hidden beach. All around them sharp rocks rose up. The beach was totally concealed from anyone who didn’t know it was there. Here Dòmhnall stopped, and again gazed out to sea.

“What are you waiting for?” Connor asked, scanning the horizon.

“You will see. They are coming.”

“They?” Connor turned his eyes to the horizon. He saw nothing other than the odd fish leaping out of the water. Then the fish got closer, and bigger. “Dolphins?”

“No. Connor. Mermaids.”

“Mermaids.” He looked closely. As the mermaids leapt out of the water and into the warm air, he could see their long flowing hair. “Why are there mermaids here?”

“They are your challenge, Connor.”

“You don’t expect me to fight them?”

“No. Not fight.” The first mermaid had reached the rocks on the far side of the beach. “Come. Follow me.”

Connor did as he asked, not noticing when Dòmhnall put wax into his ears. His gaze was already fixed on the beautiful creatures. Four in all, pulling themselves half out of the water. He smiled, beguiled by their beauty. But still not lost. Only when they opened their mouths and began to sing did he lose all sense of who he was, and why he was here.

Even without the hood on the air was stuffy and humid. All she wanted to do was leave this place with its twisting, turning paths and dead ends. She came across open spaces where six or seven paths disappeared into the distance. The gloom clinging to the walls made it impossible to tell where any of those paths led. She was lost, not that she had been anything but lost since they had brought her down here.

A new problem soon became apparent. She needed to drink. The hot humid air was making her sweat, and draining the strength from her. It appeared that Dòmhnall was happy for her to die here after all. At this moment, she could not imagine this ending any other way.

In desperation, she had opened her mouth to shout, to scream for Connor. For all she knew, he could be elsewhere in the labyrinth trying to locate her. Yes, the more she thought about it, the more plausible that scenario sounded. They had both been taken into the dark labyrinth, and set free to find each other.

Then why hadn’t she heard Connor calling her? He would not have been worried about waking the supposed beast. He would have called out her name. Unless he hadn’t realised she was here either. Perhaps he was shuffling around trying to find the way out too.

Yet, she could not bring herself to call his name. Not until she leaned her back against one of the walls, for support. She felt faint. If she didn't get out of here soon, she was going to pass out. Her hand went to her stomach, and the baby growing there. If she didn’t escape soon they would both die. There was nothing left to risk.

Taking a moment to catch her breath, she summoned the rest of her dwindling strength and called out his name. “Connor. Can you hear me? I’m here.”

Silence. For one long moment, there was nothing. Only the sound of her voice bouncing off the walls in a never-ending echo. She closed her eyes. He wasn’t here. She was doomed. Pushing herself away from the wall, she staggered on. Until her blood froze, fear making her a statue.

In the distance, a loud roar. She listened; trying to work out of it was the roar of a dragon. Was that the trial? They had to fight another dragon. Which one now. Perhaps Dòmhnall himself.

The sound reached her again. This was not a dragon, it was too deep, but all the same familiar in some way.

“Oh, no.” He hand flew to her mouth as if she could pull the cry back into her mouth, so that it had never been uttered. The labyrinth. The myth came to her, a Minotaur, half man half bull. “A myth,” she repeated.

Yet how could she refuse to believe. Dragons were a myth, until she had met one. Now they were as real, more real, than any human she had ever met. To refuse to believe in the Minotaur was ludicrous. Especially when the ground began to shake. The sound of feet hitting the ground as something advanced rapidly towards her.

Which way to run? She was lost. All she could hope to do was figure out which direction the beast was coming from. Then run from it as fast as she could. Yet she knew she could not out run it for long. She was too tired, and too thirsty. But she had to try.

Keeping her nerve, she stood, holding her breath while the footsteps grew louder. The shape of the labyrinth made it impossible to pinpoint from which direction. The sounds bounced off the walls until they were all around her. She had to choose which way to run. She wished she had been able to speak to Tara before they left. She might have gained some insight about which way he would come from.

But wishful thinking had never proved helpful, so she took a deep breath, and ran. Down the path to her left, her breath coming in sharp gasps. Across a square, she had already passed through, and straight out the other side. Her heart raced. From somewhere she found the strength to move, one foot in front of the other as fast as she could.

Behind her, a loud bellow filled the square she had passed through. She had made the right choice, but he was gaining on her. Maybe he would take a different exit, and go off down another path. But a loud snorting filled the air. He could smell her.

She cried out, and ran on. Her hands brushing the walls, her eyes fixed on the small space in front of her. Serena could see so little, but she dashed headlong down a slope. All the time knowing she was simply going deeper and deeper. Yet there was no choice, she couldn’t go back, only on.

Serena didn’t need to turn around to know he was close. The footsteps were loud; giving her a hint of just how big the beast was that hunted her. What was the myth again? The voice in her head screamed at her she didn’t want to know. Her mind provided the information anyway.

The Minotaur ate flesh. Human flesh. Sacrifices were given to him. And that was what she was, his next meal.

Warm breath on her back, he snorted, and a hand reached out for her. She slammed into a wall, pistoning off it and down a different path. There was no end to this accursed place. She was doomed. The dragons had betrayed her. Too tired to go on, she turned and faced her fate.

The beast stopped, nearly skidding into her. He took a step back, and this gave Serena a chance to look all about her for a weapon. Surely, someone must have dropped something down her over the centuries.

It was too much to hope for. No sliver of light hit a sword, or a dagger. There was nothing only rocks and dirt. Slowly she lifted her eyes up to look at her pursuer fully for the first time. Yes, rocks and dirt were useless. The creature before her was huge. A bull face, with big horns on the top of her head. He would withstand any blow she was capable of inflicting.

He snorted again, shuffling on his feet, looking at her with his head tilted to one side. “It has been a long time since a sacrifice has been made. I thought the world outside of my labyrinth had forgotten me.”

“They have. At least the humans have. You are a myth, not real.”

“And yet here I am.” He took a step towards her. “Very real.”

“Please let me go. I wish you no harm.”

“Really. So if I put a sword in your hand you would not use it against me?”

“Please. The dragons brought me here. This is meant to be a trial, but they have betrayed me.”

“And why should I care? The dragons are at least creatures of the old world, like me.” His voice low and mellow. Masking his power and cruelty. “You however, are a human, a scourge on this earth.”

“But I carry a dragon. I am with child.”

He stepped closer. She could see the bulging muscles of his arms, massive, bigger than Connor’s. This beast would be stronger even than Dòmhnall. No wonder Arran and Kier did not want to meet him.

“It is better for the dragon to die than to have a mother who is human.”

“How can you say that?” She put her hand protectively on her precious baby.

“You have been forced to bear the dragon child. What will become of it? Will you shut it away so that the world will never see it?”

“No. I want my child to be born free, to fly in the blue sky, to live in the fresh air.”

“But you carry a monster in your belly.”

“I carry my child. He was made with love. My mate is a dragon. I will love him to the end of my days.”

He laughed. “From where I stand that is not very long.”

“Please,” she begged. “Let me go”

“No. I do not believe you carry a beast. Why would the dragons bring you here if you were carrying one of their own species?”

“It’s true. Please, give me your hand and you can feel him, the heat from his body warms my skin. Here, feel.” She took his hand, trying not to think about how big it was. With one swift movement, he could break her neck and crush her bones to dust.

They were strong hands, the skin rough, but his touch on her belly was gentle. He stood still, and she thought his breathing stopped for a moment while his hand rested on the swell of her baby.

“I can feel his heat. I can hear his heart beat.”

“He is a dragon. And I want this child so badly. Please.”

“I don’t believe a human can love a beast. You will lock him away.”

“No. I promise you. But I have to get out of here to find my baby’s father. I have no idea what they’ve done with him”

“I have always wondered what it would be like to have a mate. One who is not filled with abhorrence at the sight of me.”

“It is the most amazing thing in the world. And he has waited thousands of years for me, for our child. I beg you to let me go to him.”

“You are nothing to me. Your love is nothing to me. Why should I do this for you? Where is the gain for me?”

“I have nothing to give you. Only my thanks and friendship. You must live a lonely life here. Spare me and I swear I will come back and talk to you. I can tell you of the outside world.”

“You would leave here and forget your promise.”

“No. I won’t. I swear on my child’s life. I’ll even bring the baby dragon to see you. And you will know you spared his life. And I will make sure he never forgets what we owe you.”

He threw his head back and roared. A disturbing mixture of rage and laughter. Serena wondered when was the last time he had laughed. Or whether he ever had before.

“I can see why you are the mate of a dragon. He is a lucky man. I will hold you to your bargain. Now, let me see if I can remember the way out to the sea.”

His free will had left him. No matter how hard he tried, he could not drag himself away from the voices calling him. He knew he should be searching for something. However, he could not keep his mind straight for long enough to grasp what it was.

“Come with us,” they beckoned, and he wanted to follow. Their voices mingling with the sounds of the waves crashing upon the rocks. A soothing noise. Lulling him until there was nothing left in the world but those beautiful faces and the sounds of their silvery voices.

“Connor, swim with us,” and then a cascade of harmonious voices cocooned him. He took one step, and then another. Why should he deny himself this joy? They held out their arms to him, and beckoned him to join them. He could think of nowhere he would rather be. If he died here, right now he would die happy, because they touched him with their hands. While their voices touched his soul.

The water was warm, as he sat with them on the rocks, with the waves washing over him. He was born again, no longer a creature of fire; he belonged with them in the water.

From behind him, he heard another voice. “Connor. Connor,” it cried, but it did not have the same effect on him. Still he turned, and he saw her there. He knew what she meant to him, but the mermaids had a hold on him that he could not break. So he stood mute, while she wept tears of anguish and betrayal.

“He is ours,” said one of the mermaids, whose hair was long, tinted by the sun and the salt of the sea. It blew across her face and he reached out to touch it, to brush it back from her graceful neck.

“No. Please. He is my true mate.” Behind her stood a monstrous beast, with horns on his head. A stab of jealousy hit him in the heart. Still he could not react, the silky web of these sirens wrapped mercilessly around him.

“Connor,” she called again, but he turned away. The hands of the beauties from the sea caressing him.