Shifters Gone Alpha (24 page)

Just the mention of Hannah’s name by the man Liam knew was capable of despicable acts of evil had the dragon shifter pulling against his restraints and seething with a fury he hadn’t known he was capable of. His dragon thrashed against the constraints of his mind, pushing with all his beastly strength to come forth. Liam was just about to speak when Cleland was once again spewing his venom.

“I originally planted the spell within Hannah so that I might keep tabs on my dear Meli Rose. I still have plans for my traitor of a granddaughter and didn’t want her to get too far away, but then we had this unforeseen windfall. My followers, the ones you and your kin were unable to abduct and turn against me, have summoned and trapped a low level demon. The only downside is that he has to have a permanent host to remain topside. I tried shoving him into your little mate, but that only works for short periods of time before she is able to throw off the effects and push the demon out. I fear if I keep pushing she might burn out, and I still need her to keep tabs on my wayward kin.

“So you see, that leaves you. I happened to be listening to dear sweet Hannah’s thoughts and was thrilled to find out you were her mate. It was then I decided there could be no better vessel than the strong mind and body of a Dragon Guardsman. The demon can lie dormant within you and be called forth only when I need him, hence stretching his time topside to as long as I find him useful. I’ve even solved the problem of your dragon. I can put the beast to ‘sleep’, thus keeping him out of the way for as long as I have need of your body and soul. Of course, I have no idea what shape you and your dragon will be in when we’re done, but then again, I honestly do not care.”

Liam shook with anger and disbelief. His mind raced from all he’d heard. All he could think of was how to get loose and save his beautiful mate from all the evil the man standing next to him had planned. Shouting to his brethren through their unique mindspeak links and the common ones alike, the young dragon prayed at least one of his kin would hear his distress call. Yelling in his own mind until he thought it might explode, but only silence was returned. Just about ready to double his efforts, the sound of metal scraping against concrete silenced his pleas.

Tiny footsteps filled the silence. The light lemony scent of Angel’s trumpets filled the cavern and his dragon whimpered. Liam’s heart dropped like a stone as Hannah’s light red tresses came into view just before he saw her beautiful face. The same face that had haunted his dreams since their first meeting. Her ivory skin was soft to the touch and glowed with an absolute purity that could only have come from the Universe Herself. Her long curly tresses felt like silk as they ran through his fingers, and her brilliant blue eyes were so expressive, Liam felt as if he were drowning every time he looked into them.

He was immediately swamped in a lethal combination of sadness and fury. The dragon he’d shared his soul with for over sixty years blew smoke and pawed at the ground like a bull ready to charge. There was no way either man or beast was going to let the
Draoi
continue to take advantage of their mate.

The sounds of other footsteps echoed off what he was sure were stone walls. By his count, three more
Dorcha
had entered the room. Liam could hear Cleland issuing orders, leaving Liam free to focus all his attention on his mate. He knew the only way they were going to make it out alive was for Hannah to wake from the trance she was under and for them to work together. It was obvious the
Grand Draoi
had placed some kind of dampening spell around the structure they were in that was keeping him from communicating with his brethren. Sadly, he and Hannah were on their own.

Time to put up or shut up.

Going into warrior mode, Liam almost immediately came up with a plan. One he was sure was going to fail, but one he at least had to try. Focusing all his energy and that of his dragon on their nonresponsive mate, he began to probe the mating bond he shared with Hannah. Just like he’d experienced earlier in the day, the link was dark and dank, teaming with an evil that Liam now knew was a low level demon squatting in his mate’s body. 

As he pushed through the darkness, careful to avoid detection from the evil entity, Liam remembered a little of the magic his mother had taught him when he was a young boy. Thankfully, Kara Drennan had been a white witch and loved sharing her knowledge with her only son. Although her focus had been on Healing magic, she still knew a lot about Defensive magic and an attack spell or two, which she’d taught Liam before small pox claimed her life shortly before his first transition. One incantation in particular he recalled was to wake a person from a coma. He had no idea if it would wake a person being possessed by a demon, but at this point, he was will to try damn near anything.

Reciting the spell he remembered just as if Kara had said it to him yesterday, Liam chanted
mu’scail
over and over in his head, pushing it into the mating bond he shared with Hannah and reinforcing it with his dragon magic. Splitting his attention between his mate and Cleland, he worked at his bindings. The more the silver-covered jute bit into his skin, the more determined Liam became to free both Hannah and himself.

Looking deep into his mate’s eyes, Liam prayed he wasn’t imagining the focus he slowly saw returning. It was as if the dark clouds were being pushed back and the spark that made Hannah the incredibly special woman he loved was returning. He had to be careful that Cleland didn’t sense his use of magic or somehow figure out what he was trying to do.

As if the
Grand Draoi
had heard his thoughts, the room was suddenly awash in candle light and the smell of burning herbs combined with a smoky almost bitter smell. It was then Liam heard chanting from what someone behind him. The
Dorcha
were beginning the spell that would draw the demon out of Hannah and deposit it within him. He knew it was perverse, but one thought continued to circle his mind as he tried with all his might to break the dark hold the demon had on his mate and send the bastard back to hell.

Even if I fail, the demon will be out of Hannah.

She was, after all, the most important person in all of this. He had to protect her, no matter what, and had been cursing himself since waking up for not knowing right away what was wrong with his mate and putting an end to the hold the
Draoi
had on her. The son of a bitch had admitted to putting her under his influence the night they’d rescued Melanie and the others. How could Liam have missed the black magic within his own mate? How had he failed her in such a huge way? If…no,
when
he got them out of this mess, he was going to spend every day of their very long loves together making it up to her. Now all he had to do was get them out of there.

Piece of cake! Not!

“Now don’t sell yourself short there, loverboy.”

The sound of Royce’s voice boomed in Liam’s head. The younger Guardsman was so shocked that for the first time since waking up he was glad to be tied to the cement slab, otherwise he would’ve landed flat on his ass from surprise.

“Royce?”

“You were expecting the jolly green giant?”

“No, Roy, he was expecting me. Everyone knows it’s the older more handsome brother that saves the day.”
Rian, the leader of the Blue Thunder Clan, who also just happened to be Royce’s older brother, chimed in.

“I thought it was the younger more dashing brother…”
Rory, Royce’s younger brother, added.

“Y’all need to get the hell out of the way and let the little white witch work her magic or none of you will be taking another step.”
Kyra teased, but Liam could hear the underlying stress in the tiny witch’s voice.

“How the…?”
Liam was so overwhelmed that his brethren had somehow heard his distress calls that words escaped him.

“We heard you loud and clear, Li, you just couldn’t hear us.”
Jace answered his almost-asked question.
“Kyra and Melanie were able to get a lock on the black magic while Royce and I followed your call. I’m guessing our old friend Cleland is in there with you?”

“You got it in one,”
Liam answered.
“Bastard’s got a pretty weak demon resting inside of Hannah, but he really wants it inside of me. They’re getting ready to make the switch any minute.”

“We’re not going to let that happen, Liam. Is Hannah okay?”
Melanie, who until that moment had been silent, asked.

“She’s fine. I was trying an old spell my mom taught me to get her to wake up. It seems to be working, but it’s taking forever.”

“That’s because Cleland has the whole building you’re in doused with serious amounts of black magic. Anything we do with white or dragon magic is gonna take at least twice as much power to work,”
Kyra answered, but he could tell she was distracted by whatever she was setting up.
“But don’t you worry, I got the terrible threesome, who as much as it pains me to admit are stronger than any other dragons I’ve ever come across. Not to mention Melanie and Jace.”

“Kyra…”
The brothers growled in unison.

Their complaining went unanswered. All Liam could hear was the little witch’s occasional mumbling. He knew from experience she’d jumped headlong into whatever spell she needed to work to free both him and his mate.

Returning his focus to Hannah and his attempt to wake her up, Liam also listened to the progress of his friends while keeping tabs on the
Draoi
. From what he could hear, the leader of the
Dorcha
was working with only three, maybe four of his followers. They would be no match for the sheer size and power of the Guardsmen about to break through their defenses. 

Minutes ticked by, each seeming to stretch longer than the one before. The chanting of the black magic practitioners grew in intensity as did the voices of his brethren and their mates just outside his prison. He could feel dragon magic combined with powerful white magic building just beyond his reach and was pleasantly surprised that the
Grand Draoi
was giving no indication he even knew the dragons were there.

“Get ready, Li, we can’t pinpoint your exact location, so Kyra has no way of knowing how close to you the explosion will happen. She’s tried unraveling Cleland’s protection, but it’s taking too long, so we’re going with plan B.”
Jace sounded tense
but confidant, giving Liam the push he needed to finally free his right hand from its binding. The silver had torn his skin almost to the bone, but at least he could now grab Hannah if need be and roll away from whatever may be coming at them.

“Do what ya gotta do. Just get Hannah out of here before they do something else to her. We can get the demon out of her when we get her back to the lair. Right now she’s protected by the slab they have me laid out on and a half wall made of stone.”

“Gotcha. Here we come.”
Jace sounded almost giddy.

Royce began the countdown.
“Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three…”
The rest of the countdown was drown out by the most blood-curdling, inhuman screech Liam had ever heard. It shook the foundation of the building and sent the
Dorcha
and their leader scurrying from the room right before the wall beyond Liam’s feet exploded in a shower of dust and rock.

Quicker than even he could track, Royce and Rory had him untied and standing near the huge hole in the wall while Rian had Hannah over his shoulder and was leading the way out of the rubble. Moving as the well-trained unit they were, the Guardsmen made it to where Kyra and Melanie were waiting. It took mere seconds before the white witches were collected, and together the group made their way back to the lair.

Liam’s wounds were attended by Brenna, another of Hannah’s sisters. Had there not been bits of silver embedded in the rope, he would’ve already healed. As it was, as soon as Brenna removed a piece of silver, the skin where it had been began to knit itself back together. He listened intently as Kyra, Melanie, Sarah Beth, and two of her older sisters prepared for Hannah’s exorcism in the basement of Rian’s home. Liam wondered why the eldest O’Reilly brother had a Devil’s trap in his basement, but decided to save that conversation for another day.

More than once they all assured him the demon residing within his mate was little more than one of Hell’s many whipping boys with barely enough power to keep himself awake. He knew that should’ve made him feel better, just knowing the evil spirit would be easy to remove and banish back to where it came from, but for some reason it didn’t. He just wanted his Hannah back, whole and healthy and without a demon sucking the life from her soul.

The last piece of silver hit the basin beside him right as Kyra called out, “Get your ass down here, Liam. We’re ready to banish this bastard back to Hell.” 

He had to laugh at the tiny white witch, she may be only five foot nothing, but she was a powerhouse in every way, the perfect match for his grumpy old mentor. Stepping off the steps, Liam made his way to where Kyra pointed and picked up the white candle like the others in attendance had already done. Brenna had explained while administering his first aid that they would be using the power of twelve, along with a very old Banishment spell to get rid of the demon. As Liam looked around the room he counted thirteen in attendance, but realized Rian was standing at the far corner and didn’t have a candle.