Asher: Dragon's Savior (8 page)

There was a long table filled with food; not just plates of it, but large tubs filled with legs of lamb, hams…about a dozen of them…and baskets upon baskets of bread of different kinds. But it was the people at the table that shocked him. They were all dead, long dead.

The bodies were brittle, the skin long since gone. He walked up to one of them and could see that they wore jewels that were worth a fortune, and crowns marred by dust and webs. Age had darkened most of the gems, including the diamonds in the earrings of the women. Silken gowns and shirts that had long since rotted and started to fall apart held the bones together. The ties all but pulled apart from the strain of their weight. He was just reaching out to touch the crown of the man at the head of the table when he heard a scream. He knew it was Essie.

The blade sticking from her belly was shaking with her screams. Reaching her to pull it from her body, his fingers only passed through it. Her screams, louder now that he was near her, tore at him, his heart breaking with each one of them. The woman with the black robe stood over her; her voice, shrill in the stone room, demanded that Essie give it to her.

“Now, it is mine; they are all mine. Give it to me now. It belongs to me.” Essie shook her head, tears streaming down her face as her mother commanded her to give it up. Then her mother plunged a second knife into Essie, stabbing her in the chest on the opposite side from her heart. “Give it to me.”

“Never.” The scream that came with the third knife entering her body had Asher falling to his knees, his body hurting with each of her wounds. When she turned to him, his Essie, he knew that she could see him, and he reached for her just as she spoke. “Never would I give you up. I love you.”

Asher felt hands all over him. He fought them, using his fist, his feet, whatever he could to get away from them. There were voices too, someone screaming at him to wake up. Then the slap to his face had him opening his eyes.

“Christ.” Jed was sitting on his chest and Gideon was holding onto his left arm, Simeon the other. There were others at his legs, but he was looking for Essie. Needed to see her. He looked at Jed when he said his name.

“Where is she? I need to see her.” Jed nodded, then looked over at the window. She was there, but she wasn’t awake. “Essie?”

“You hit her. It’s what brought us to you. That and Kiaran. I’ve never seen him so afraid in my life. Christ, what the fuck were you dreaming about?” Struggling to sit up, he got up and went to her. Jed moved with him like he was afraid that he’d hit her again. Picking her up, he held her to his chest and asked what had happened.

“You were screaming, and when we came into the room with Kiaran, you were fighting against her. Essie was crying and you must have already hit her once, because there was blood on her mouth.” Asher looked down at her face as Elam continued. “She turned to us…I guess she’d heard us come in…and you backhanded her. Kiaran laid her over there and left right away. He said something about getting Dad and someone named Caroline. And he said he’d send Dad to us.”

Almost as if he’d summoned him, his dad was in the room with them. Elam handed him a blanket, which he wrapped around Essie and himself and then leaned back against the chair. He wanted to scream out his frustrations, but his dad was speaking to him.

“I want you to tell me what you know about the room. Everything.” He looked at Kiaran and his dad nodded at him. “He was there, he said, but he was more concerned with you. But he couldn’t see anything but you. Where was the room, Asher? You have to remember.”

“In a cave. There were thirteen people standing around a dais all dressed in black. They were chanting, but I couldn’t really hear what they were saying. Essie was there, tied…no, now that I think about it, she was chained to the thing, her body covered in this gold like dust. Even her hair was saturated in it.” He closed his eyes and tried to remember every detail. “There was a woman. She called Essie the child of dragons, and that she was to give it to her. That it was hers.”

“Did she say what it was?” Opening his eyes, he shook his head at his dad. “What was she dressed in? Black? Red? What?”

“A black robe that tied in the back. There were lilies down the front of it and all along the hem at the bottom. There was a leather strap that hung down her shoulder to her left hip. It was heavy looking, with a long blade handle at the opening of it. There was a….” Asher had to close his eyes again to think what the design was on the pouch. “It was a dragon. But it wasn’t right, not in flight but…but it looked as if it were soaring downward, like he was going to nosedive into the earth.”

His dad nodded and asked him what else. He told him about the room with the food. “It was fresh food. I mean, in great contrast to the people around the table. The cutlery was polished and the plates were free of dust and dirt. There were flowers in the center, some of them dead, some not. But it was in varying stages of decay. Like some had been added to the vase over a long period.”

“The man at the head of the table. Do you know what he looked like? Did you see a ring? Maybe a part of the crown that might have been something you’d seen before or could recognize again?”

“It was gold; not brightly polished, but I could tell what it was. Rubies were most of the stones in it, except for the one in the center. It was white; not bright, but white with blood lines going through it. There was one on his chest as well, hanging from a long chain that was thick with gold.”

“How many people were at the table?” Asher opened his eyes when the woman spoke. He didn’t know who she was until she smiled at him. “You helped me once. I want to return the favor. I’m Caroline, the white witch of the Regnum Autem Dracones: or the Kingdom of Dragons. You saved me from the troll several weeks ago.”

“How can you help me? Help us? It was a dream, right?” She sat down and shook her head. “But she isn’t hurt. Essie is fine. Except that I hurt her when I hit her.”

Caroline put out her hand and touched the bruise on Essie’s forehead. She woke up and stared at him for several seconds before she cried out and wrapped her arms around him. She was sobbing and Asher held her, fighting his own tears. Caroline stood up, as did the others.

“Dress and come downstairs. I need to hear the story from the beginning. And so you know, this is a foretold dream. Your wife is very strong herself, and has seen enough to help us save all our lives.” With that everyone left them.

Asher held Essie for as long as she’d let him before she pulled back and looked at his face.

“You were crying out. I tried to wake you and you were so afraid.” He nodded, not able to speak around the tightness in his throat. “I sent Kiaran for someone but when he came back, Jed tried to hold you down, but you were so…you were fighting even him.”

“I hit you.” She shook her head and put her hand over the bruise that was fading. “Jed said I knocked you off me and you hit your head. I’d never…Kiaran came to me, said it was a dream and that I needed to remember. But when they killed you…oh Essie, I love you so very much.”

“I love you too. And I’m just fine.” He nodded and pulled her close again. “Asher, we have to see what that woman wants. I have a feeling…I’m not sure what’s going on, but I have a feeling that the shit is about to hit the fan.”

Laughter wasn’t something that he had expected to fall from his mouth, but he felt better for it. Holding Essie just a little longer, he finally let her stand up and watched her dress. She was pulling on a pair of his boxers again when he remembered that Elbert had gone into town for her.

Receiving the clothes filled her with such joy. Watching her put them on and giggling as she showed him how well they fit was the balm that he needed. As soon as she was dressed she went to sit on the bed, because he couldn’t let her out of his sight just yet. Everything was too fresh; her death, even though it was a dream, still hurt him.

Chapter 7

“Little is known about the order that you witnessed tonight. Very few people have even seen the ritual that you described and lived to tell about it. And the fact that Essie doesn’t remember any of it makes me think that it was your dream and not hers. You were…I’m not sure I completely understand this, but it seems to me that you and her exchanged lives while there.”

“I don’t understand.” Caroline nodded as if she didn’t think that they would, and Essie felt stupid. And when she felt that way, she tended to be nasty. “Why is it we’re forever playing games with you people? Do you mean that instead of it being me tied to the table, it was Asher and he was seeing me there because…because he couldn’t see himself?”

“That’s it exactly. You got it. It was his dream, a thing that will come to pass to him and not you. Seeing himself there would have made his mind shut down. But with you being hurt, it was easier for his mind to relax enough to do as Kiaran needed him to do.” Essie looked at Asher, who hadn’t said a word since he’d told the tale of the room again. He was pale looking, his face drawn. Essie wanted to go to him, hold him, but he looked like he was deep in thought. She hoped that he was trying to forget that he’d hit her, but she was sure he’d never forget that.

“Why him? Not that I want to be tied down naked for a bunch of strangers, but why would this witch, my mother, want something from him?” Caroline looked at Asher, and Essie did too. He was staring at her now and she had a feeling that he’d gotten it worked out.

“They want the dragons. The sign on the bag was something I had seen before. Long ago. It’s the death of all dragons. The glyphs on the ceiling, it’s there so that the person lying on the dais can read it, a chant. They say it while they’re being killed to call the dragons to them. But in my case, I didn’t need the words, I have one with me. And she knew it.” Caroline told him he was right, but there was more. “Yes. There is lots more. Your mother has been around since the time when dragons roamed the world, like other creatures. She and a group of other fanatics wanted them killed. I don’t know why, and if I ever did, I don’t remember now. But they formed this…I guess coven, to rid the world of them. The people at the table are the founders. Helena the Black was their witch.”

“She was paid nicely to rid the world of dragons too. The money and jewels that she was paid never lasted long, and she had to get more and more creative to find dragons to fall under her spell. Anthony and Eve were strong dragons, and they resisted her every spell for the longest time, it was said. One night, while they reveled in their killing of another fine dragon, Anthony entered their chamber.” Caroline raised her hands, and the room they were in seemed to fade out and large dining area appeared. “The king at that time was King Ruben. He was a bad king, raping whoever found themselves close enough for him to fuck, pillaging all the surrounding kingdoms simply to take their women and children. He was not a man, king, or even a human being that was liked.”

“When did he reign?” Essie looked at Jacob when he asked. Sometimes Essie forgot that he’d been here when there were kings and queens and a dragon to boot. “The one that I remember wasn’t Ruben but someone else. I can’t remember him now. Then Anthony.”

“His son…Ruben’s son, Manchester. He only reigned for a month before Anthony killed him. It was him or the village that he was lord of. Manchester, like his father, was a fool, and a stupid one as well.” Caroline smiled at Jacob. “I remember you and Sally. I never came to this home for I knew that it was protected, but I watched you rear your children. It took me a long time to see that you raised the king’s hatchlings as well. You did a fine job, the two of you. Sally was a wonderful woman.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Everyone turned to Essie when she spoke. “Okay…Jacob, I understand is a ghost. Took me a while to figure that one out, but once I did, things he’d said to me, little things, started to make sense. Elbert was a little harder to get down. He’s a shifter, yeah, I get that, but it was the Rottweiler that I never understood until I heard Casdon say it was his preferred animal. I think I saw him as a bird once, and even a big assed bear.” Elbert bowed before her and smiled. “But you? You look like you and I are the same age. And you’re…you’re a white witch. My mother, I get that, is black, but she can’t make herself younger, just…I guess, different.”

“Your mother is as old as I. Or nearly so. She’s younger by a few centuries.” Essie shook her head. “Oh, but child, she is. And the reason that you are here now is because I had to work with the queen to make it so. For centuries I had to wait and bide my time until the right man came along to sire you. He had to be this special man, coming into the world at a perfect time. And I had to give Helena the scale to make her conceive you when all the things aligned.”

“She knew me.” Caroline nodded and turned to Kiaran when she did. Essie stared at the man and the tat on his arm that she knew was there. “When I touched his sigil, it spoke to me. Called me Esmerelda, and told me it was time for me to show them the chamber of gold. I thought…the room is filled with not just gold, but everything. I had thought that was what it meant. But there is a room of gold and she put it there for me to find.”

“It was what killed her, taking the gold there for you to find. And with her last breath, she marked Kiaran so that you’d touch him and bring them there.”

Essie stood up. It was too much. Everything, her entire life, had been a planned out line of events to bring Asher and Kiaran to a chamber filled with gold. Tears burned her eyes. She’d been manipulated.

“I need some air.” She didn’t wait for anyone to say anything, but moved to the doorway out onto the yard. Essie didn’t want anyone to come with her, and told Asher to give her a few minutes when he stood too. She was hurt and hurting more with each breath she took. When she was outside, Essie took in great gulps of air to try and quell the burning in her heart.

“He doesn’t feel that way.” She turned to look at Elbert when he spoke. He must have been sitting there when she came out, because he had a cup of tea, a pot with a cozy over it, as well as a plate of scones. “Have some with me, please.”

“I need to be alone.” He only pushed the filled cup toward her and nodded at the chair. “I was told you were a tea snob. Is that true?”

“It is. I have my own blends that I make. But as for being a snob, I don’t drink my brews. I only share them with people that I love. And you, my dear, I love very much. I’ll warm your cup while you tell me what you’re thinking.” She had no idea why she sat down and less why she took the cup when he offered it to her. “Asher loves you.”

“Sure he does. Because some queen a long time ago told him that I’d help his family become rich.” She knew it was mean and a lie, but she hurt. “People are forever telling me one thing and doing the opposite.”

“I had that as well before I worked in the kingdom. His lordship told me he’d be honest with me and he never went back on that promise. His lady wife either.” Essie took a sip of the tea and was surprised at the flavor. “This is raspberry. I’m happy to see that you love the taste. I dry the berries myself and then add them to the tea leaves gently so as not to bruise the flavor. Then I add just a touch of lemon to take away the bitterness of the black tea. You do like it, don’t you?”

“Yes.” She drank her tea in silence for a few minutes until she turned to him. “You said that he doesn’t feel that way. What did you mean by that?”

“Kiaran. You thought that he hated you because his mother died putting the gold there for you to show him. I assure you that she only did it because she wanted her sons to have enough to take care of the men who had saved them for her.” Essie looked out over the vast fields behind the house and the mountains that seemed to hold it in their palms. “Essie, do you mind if I tell you a story?”

“The woman in there, she told me one as well. Will it be just as farfetched?” He laughed, and she looked at him. “I like you, Elbert. You’re a good man, and I think that if you told me something like the other story, I’d believe you.”

“Good. And for as much as you’d like to not believe what Lady Caroline is telling you, it’s the truth.” Essie nodded. She figured it would be. “The story I’d like to tell you is of a young couple. Their names are Anthony and Eve.”

“The dragon king and queen.” He nodded. “It must have been fantastic living with them, seeing them fly overhead daily. I’m disappointed when I look up and see a plane. I can’t imagine what I’d do if I saw a real dragon.”

“You see them daily, child. They just don’t fly around here so much right now because of the black witch. She is out to kill them, and even before Master Asher’s dream, I think they all knew that.” Essie nodded and asked him about the couple. “They wanted children. More than anything they wanted to see their children grow into adults and become young men and women. Even as they conceived, they were worried. The witch and the coven were gone now, or so it seemed, and they started their family despite the fear they had about her coming back. A dragon only has a single offspring every thousand years, you see. But Eve had given birth to six of them, a rarity more than anyone would ever have known.”

“Did she use magic?” He shook his head. “Then how did she conceive so many and have them? I mean, it seems to me it would weaken her a great deal.”

“It did. During most of her pregnancy she had to stay hidden away. If anyone found out or the coven were to rise again, the first thing they’d do was find her and kill her and the unborn hatchlings. So for four months she stayed in the caves. Hiding not just what was happening to her body, but what she was doing as well. Studying the art of witchcraft. With Caroline.”

Essie put down her cup and toyed with the cookies on the plate. To eat one, she knew, would be heaven. These were blueberry not the strawberry ones she’d had before, but she knew they’d be just as good.

“When did she figure out that all was not right in her world?” He told her a month before she was due to have the hatchlings. “So she worked through the nights and brought all she could to the chamber and hid it away.”

“Yes, they both did. If nothing came to pass, they would have it hidden away for themselves. If there was trouble, it would be for their children. Then on the night after the children were born, she took to the skies with Anthony. They were having so much fun despite what had just happened the day before with the storm, and flying around looking at the damage did little to dispel their happiness. Six sons; they were to have six young dragons to keep them happy in the coming years.” He took a sip of his tea as he continued. “The arrow hit her first, piercing her chest through and through. As she fell to the earth, Anthony followed her. His only thought was to save his wife. But the second blade hit him in the chest, not quiet piercing his heart but coming close. As he gathered her into his arms, flying high to be safe, she convinced him to take her to the lair. She wanted to say good-bye to their children. But before he could take her there she was hit again and again, and she was near death when he laid her down.”

Tears filled Essie’s eyes as she thought about their love. So much of it to be destroyed by one person. And it was her mother. She turned to Elbert as he continued his tale.

“He’d been hit as well; his armor at his chest was exposed now, and he knew that one more hit there and he’d be dead. But Eve told him that he must go to the palace. To lure them away from her and the children. She knew that she was all but dead, as did he, but he left her to do as she’d asked. When he got to the castle, I had already brought Jacob and Sally to him. He’d told me that he needed to see them.” Essie wiped at her tears, as did Elbert. “Jacob is a good man, and Sally was very special as well. She was a powerful witch in her own right, and her sister is as well.”

“Caroline.” Elbert smiled and nodded. “This is like a never ending circle of people touching each other’s lives.”

“It is a world of safety for all that are in the circle, Essie. Each person touched by this tale, this story is a part of them. Each of them have their parts to play, and if they are not played out, then things never can get to the end. Lady Eve knew this, as did her husband the king. Touching the lives before they were born, manipulating things so that her family would be safe, all of this and more is the way of the world, the way to your heart.” He touched the ring on her finger. “This was Lady Eve’s, did you know that? She wore it every day. I never saw her without it once in all the time I worked there. To see it on your hand now, a gift not just from the man who loves you, but the children of the woman who needed you, makes me know that things are going to work out for the best, and with you here, nothing can go wrong.”

“I’m not as positive as you are.” He laughed and she looked at him. “You’re a very nice man. Do they appreciate you enough?”

“They do. And I have the friendship of one that I admire very much.” She asked him who that would be. “You, my dear. I have you as a friend, and I do admire you. When I think of all that you have gone through in the past weeks, my heart soars with love for you. You are a good fit in this house.”

“I don’t fit well with anyone, Mr. Elbert. I have been…you know who my mother is. You know what she is.” Essie laughed, and even to her own ears it sounded bitter and harsh. “You can’t even say that I was born of love. Not even a mistake. I was planned by a woman so far removed from my life that I don’t even have a clue what she looked like.”

“I love you.” Essie turned to look at Asher. He was standing in the doorway looking like a man who simply belonged here in this lovely old rich house. He didn’t look at Elbert when he spoke again. “Elbert, can you see what you can do about dinner? Caroline has decided to stay for a while, and everyone is wanting to have steaks on the grill.”