Dragon Blood 5: Mage (16 page)

Amber glanced around. Nearly everyone was gone. Only a handful of Golds were left. With a smile towards Crystal, she stepped close to Kade and his arm encircled her. “Yeah, let’s go home.”

When they came out of the Void, she did a quick search and found Angela and Flinn already there, Crystal and Rian arriving seconds later. Tiredness hit her and she unsuccessfully tried to hold back a yawn.

“I need a wash. Then I’m going to sleep until late afternoon.”

Kade chuckled. “Let’s hope that this time it works.”

Poking her tongue out at him, she headed for the bathroom. As soon as she’d showered, Amber dropped onto the bed, lying awake while she tried to get her mind to turn off. She was tired, but she couldn’t stop thinking. In the end, she decided she’d see her grandparents after she woke. Give them another chance at becoming Knight Mages. Maybe with all the changes that had occurred in the Knights’ organization, they might be interested.

Late the next morning Amber stared at the blank screen of her phone, wondering if her grandfather was going to reply to her text. She was just about to give up when one came through.
We’re at home. Going out in thirty.

Searching for Kade, she used the Pliethin to take her to the room he was in. She paused to watch him train against Brann. When they stopped and Kade looked in her direction, she smiled. “Want to visit my grandfather?”

Kade sheathed his sword as he strode towards her. “I thought you were going to sleep in.”

“I was, but you were supposed to as well. I woke up and you were gone.”

“Miss me?”

She slid her arms around his waist. “Maybe.” She kissed him, her arms tightening around him, his going around her. Eventually she drew back to meet his eyes. “Well? You want to come with me? They’re going out soon.”

“Sure.”

Amber laughed. “Try not to sound so enthusiastic.” Keeping one arm around him, she pressed her fingers into the Pliethin cage, taking them to the front of her grandparent’s house. Letting go of Kade she knocked on the door.

When she sensed someone come out of the Void behind her, she spun towards them, her hand going for her sword that hung at her side. She wasn’t fast enough. They dragged her into the Void as the front door opened and Kade reached for her. She struggled to escape from the Knight Mage, smelling in his blood what he was.

They came out in a study with an antique desk and floor to ceiling bookcases, Martin and Fredrick in front of her. She pulled away from the man who’d held her, reaching for her caged Pliethin. The man grabbed her arm, twisting it behind her back.

Ignoring the pain, Amber demanded of Martin, “What do you want?”

“I want what should have been done ages ago.” He stepped close to her.

She held her ground, meeting his eyes. “And what’s that?”

Martin slowly smiled, taking the last step between them. “This.”

Pain exploded through her, before a kind of numbness settled in. She looked down to see a dagger, still held by Martin, pushed into her stomach. The man holding her arm let go and she grabbed Martin as her legs started to give way. Looking up her vision was filled with Martin’s satisfied smile. Plunging her fingers into the Pliethin cage she dragged him back into the Void with her, taking him to Ronan’s crypt. It was a struggle to remain standing and when Martin pulled from her grasp, she staggered back into the wall, starting to slide down it. She could barely hold onto consciousness. Ronan would eventually find Martin and her people would be safe from him.

Ronan stepped out of the Void. “I warned-” He broke off, drawing his sword, swinging at Martin.

Sitting on the floor, Amber pulled the dagger out, the world starting to recede even further. She pressed her hands against the wound, trying to focus on healing.

“Kitten.”

Meeting Ronan’s eyes she reached out a hand to touch his cheek. “I’m sorry.” The other hand she kept pressed against the wound, still trying to heal herself.

“Hold on.” He gripped her shoulders.

She tried to speak again, but the world felt like it caved in on her bringing with it blackness.

She heard sobbing before she was properly awake. “Mum?” Amber struggled to open her eyes, gasping as she tried to sit up in the bed.

“Don’t you dare move.”

She finally managed to open her eyes to see Ronan standing over her, blood still staining his cheek. Her blood. “Thirsty.”

He moved out of her view, returning seconds later with a glass, a bendable straw in it. “Only a little.”

A little wasn’t going to help with how thirsty she was, but Ronan pulled the straw away before she’d drunk much. She opened her mouth to protest.

“Finish healing yourself first.”

She slid a hand under the blanket, finding a bandage wrapped around her middle. Before she could do anything, Ronan reached out and lifted her arm so her bracelets were in her view. With a nod, she drew power from some of them before she tried to heal herself. It was harder than she’d expected, but finally she could sit up. Glancing around the room she saw her mother nearby. Gary stood with her, an arm around her shoulders.

“You want to tell me what happened?” Ronan demanded.

“A Knight Mage came out of the Void when I went to visit my grandparents. He took me to Martin and Fredrick. What happened-” Breaking off, she glanced towards her mother who was still sobbing. “When I ahh…” she avoiding saying collapsed. Not wanting her mother to hear the word. “What happened to Martin?”

“I told you what would happen to anyone you brought there. Did you forget?”

“No.” She held his gaze a moment. “I remembered.” Then she spoke directly to him.
“How did you manage to arrive so quickly? I didn’t expect that.”

“I know the moment anyone enters the crypt.”

“How.”

“You aren’t capable of doing it.”

“Is Kade?”

Ronan stared at her for nearly a minute.
“Maybe one day.”

She wanted to ask him all the details, but decided now wasn’t the time.
“What’ll we do about Fredrick?”

“He will suffer the same fate as Martin.”

Once she would have protested. Her hand continued to rest against the place the dagger had been. It wasn’t a game. It never had been. It was survival of the fittest and she wasn’t about to let someone else win. She had too much to live for.
“Okay.”

Ronan held out a dagger to her.

She eyed it, certain it was the one Martin had stabbed her with.

“Take it.”

“Why?”

“To the winner go the spoils.”

She took the dagger, sliding it under her pillow.

Ronan smiled. “I’ll let Kade know he can visit you now.” He vanished.

Donna broke away from Gary, still sobbing, to stand at Amber’s bedside. “I thought you were dead. When he brought you in, I thought you were dead. There was so much blood.”

“I’ll be okay, Mum.”

“You said me becoming a mage could keep you safe. It can’t. You nearly died because you’re a mage.”

“No, I said becoming a mage could keep you safe.” Irritation and anger began to rise. “Do we have to do this? I’m fine.” Why had Ronan brought her to her mother? She’d have a talk to him about that.

Kade stepped out of the Void. “I tried to grab you before he took you away.” He lifted her hand, his fingers tightening on hers.

“I know. I saw you.”

“Ronan said Fredrick was involved.”

“Yeah. He was with Martin.”

“Then he’s dead,” Kade said flatly.

Ronan came out of the Void with Simon. Both looked angry. Ronan pushed Simon towards Amber. “Tell him, kitten. Tell him who was there.”

“Fredrick.”

“I had no idea he planned this,” Simon said.

“Then what are you going to do about it?” Ronan demanded.

“Can I speak to Amber? Alone?” Simon asked.

Amber looked around the room. Kade shook his head, Ronan’s expression remained neutral and Gary had his arm around her mother again. Her eyes landed on Simon. “Okay.”

“Are you sure?”
Ronan asked Amber directly.

“Yeah.”
She waited until everyone was out of the room before she spoke to Simon. “What did you want to talk about?”

“We don’t want this affecting our partnership. Jonah and I were talking about making it long term. We can’t look for the Hell Hounds like Dragon Mages can. And we might not like dragons, but we have nothing against those who are willing to help humans. That’s what we’re about. The protection of the human race.”

“What are you going to do about Fredrick?”

“I won’t help you kill him if that’s what you expect, but we have broken completely away from their group. Even if our partnership should end tomorrow, we would still have nothing to do with them.”

“Why?”

“Because they’ve forgotten the reason we were formed.”

“Okay.”

“Does that mean things are still good between us?”

Amber nodded. “Yeah, things are still good. We’ll call you when the next lot of Hell Hounds arrive.”

“Thank you.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Can I go now?”

“I’ll check.” She reached for Ronan who wasn’t far from the room.
“Simon’s not to be held accountable for Fredrick’s actions. Can he go now?”

Ronan appeared in the room. “You don’t plan to assist him in any way?”

Simon shook his head. “Their group has nothing to do with ours.”

“You can go then.” When Simon left, Ronan stepped close to the bed. “You’re going to have to stop doing this, kitten. You need to take more care.”

“I survived, didn’t I?”

Ronan stared down at her a moment longer before he grinned. “Yeah. Make sure you continue to.”

She nodded. “Why did you bring me to my mother?”

“I didn’t. I brought you to Gary.”

That made more sense. “Thanks.”

“When you’re better, you can help me track down Fredrick.”

“I don’t know him that well. Not to be able to track him over long distances.”

Ronan stared at her silently. He nodded. “We’ll find another way to find him.”

“Okay.”

Ronan held her gaze a moment longer before he vanished into the Void.

She stared at the place he’d been for several minutes before she called to Kade, asking him to join her. When he arrived, she tugged him close. “We’ve still got to see my grandparents.”

“Maybe we should suggest them coming to see you.”

Amber shook her head. “No. I’m not about to cower and hide. We will go and see them.”

“Now?”

She shook her head. “In a day or two.” When she was feeling a lot better.

“Okay.”

She grinned at the unenthusiastic tone he used.

Amber sprawled on the carpet in front of the television, not having heard most of the movie that she, Crystal, Angela and Maira were supposedly watching. It was almost like old times. Except instead of being at her parent’s house, they were in her house that Jasper lived in. They would have had their movie night at Temolae Keep except that the dragon world wasn’t that good with electronics. Regular bursts of static didn’t make watching movies much fun.

And back before she’d met Kade, Angela hadn’t played with lightning, sliding it through her fingers like it was a cat winding its way in and out and around them. Nor did they have weapons lying within arm’s reach. Amber smiled. There were some differences, but the main things hadn’t changed. Her friends and family. She had more friends and certainly more family, but they were all still important to her.

Crystal threw a cushion at Amber who caught it before it hit her. “What did you do that for?”

“Because I asked you twice what you were thinking about. You weren’t paying any attention to me.”

“Everything.” She smiled. “I still can’t believe it’ll be a year tomorrow since we captured Temolae Keep.”

“I can’t believe you turned down a ball to celebrate,” Crystal said. “Well, I can believe, but you could have said yes. I’d love to have another ball.”

Before she had a chance to reply, her phone rang and she smiled when she saw the display read Hound Emergency. “Yeah?”

“The hounds are coming.”

“Who else has been notified?”

“Ronan, Jonah and Charles.”

“Okay. We’ll be right there.” Amber hung up as she sensed Kade and Rian enter the house, striding towards the room they were in. “Time to go. Hell Hounds.”

Crystal rose to her feet, grabbing her sword and complaining.

Angela grinned. “I hope more come through this time. Six was a breeze. I want them to send ten. Maybe then it’d be a bit of a challenge.”

“Going to their world and bringing back some of their stone wasn’t enough of a challenge for you?” Amber asked, glancing towards Kade as he entered the room with Rian.

“Nope.”

Kade chuckled. “Then you’ll be glad to know Ronan’s planning another trip.”

“Awesome.” Angela looked from Kade to Amber. “Who’s giving me a lift? Or am I waiting for Flinn?” She was still trying to learn how to use the caged Pliethins.

“Me,” Kade said. “We’re going to the location the hounds will arrive at. Flinn will meet you at the farm.”

“Guess Maira’s stuck with me.” Amber held out her hand, which Maira took. “I’ll meet everyone there.”

It didn’t take her long to find the pathway to where the Hell Hounds would arrive this time. They came out in a forest. Several people held torches, the only light in the area. The overhead branches prevented any starlight or moonlight from reaching the ground. Charles and Helen came out of the Void nearby, a caged Pliethin hung from his belt. This would be his first battle as a Knight Mage. It had been Jonah who’d convinced him to become a Knight Mage, nothing she’d said had helped.

Ronan came out of the Void beside her. “Ready, kitten?”

She nodded, knowing the hounds had to be close with how strong the waves of terror were. “Yeah.” She stepped forward with him when the hound appeared in front of them, taking it through the Void to the farm, jumping back out of the way as it attacked.

Drawing her sword, she sensed Knight Mages bring the other four hounds into the building. Maybe one day the hounds would no longer fall for them transporting them here the moment they arrived on Earth, but for now it worked and they’d continue to use it.

She brought flames to her blade, attacking the hound, driving the sword into him, turning into a goshawk to fly out of reach of his claws as he howled. Landing behind him, she drew her daggers. Kade was on one side of her, Crystal on the other, Jasper nearby. Flames burst from her blades and she grinned.

It had taken her a while to figure it out, but this was her life. Ronan had been right. Her daggers sank into the hound at the same time as Crystal and Kade’s swords did. The hound crashed to the ground with a final roar. Her eyes met Kade’s and she smiled. Her heart was racing, her senses alert.

She was a warrior. And she was going to survive.