Dragon Guard: Book 1: Prophecy of the Dragons (18 page)

"Quickly," Mrs. Thomas said. "We'll regroup at home."

Ben turned and rushed to her. Andi already had her father in her arms, and as soon as he reached her mother, he yelled, "Back to my house." He had to make sure the monsters weren't still around when his parents got home. Andi nodded, and they blinked out of the demonic necromancer's realm and landed in his living room, thankfully now clear of the multitude of undead that had invaded earlier. Too bad the windows, doors, and all the furniture were busted. Mom and Dad were going to have a conniption.

"Alexandria, Benjamin, behave yourselves." Mr. Thomas's voice was as hard as ever, despite his battered body. One leg couldn't support any weight, while the rest of him looked to have been worked over by a mix between a sledgehammer and a blowtorch. Mrs. Thomas didn't look to be in much better shape, but at least she was mobile.

"Patience, Lee. Remember how we were after we were bound."

Mr. Thomas's face went bright red, and he spat out, "There will be none of that tonight or any other night in the near future."

Ben followed the conversation, but most of his attention was focused on Andi, his Alexandria. Her hand ran under his shirt and caressed his chest, her touch both fire and ice. He supposed that was what her father complained about, but he made no effort to stop his new dragon bride. In fact, if he could, he would slide his hand under her shirt, just to feel the smooth skin of her flat belly on his fingertips. But even in this lust-driven state, he had enough wherewithal to keep himself in check. No doubt Mr. Thomas, broken leg or not, would get up and punch him in the face if he tried. Though he knew Andi would welcome his touch. In fact, she hungered for it. Just a half-hour earlier, that thought would have scared him to death, but no longer. Now she was his, as he was hers.

"Geez, Lee, you need to get a grip. Andi, take your hand out of Ben's shirt before your father bursts some more blood vessels. He can't afford to lose anymore tonight."

She obeyed her mother, though only Ben realized how hard it was for her. As her touch fluttered on his skin, he couldn't tell where her heartbeats started and his ended. Once her hand was free, her father started talking, his voice softer, more under control.

"You two are now fully bound, though I'm sure you figured that out. We're sorry you had such an abrupt, brutal binding, but it was necessary.

"We wanted to make it special," Mrs. Thomas said, "but obviously we couldn't. We'll make it up to you at your human wedding."

That, too, no longer struck terror into Ben. In fact, he'd marry her right now if they'd let him. They weren't still going to make them wait 150 years, were they? He couldn't bear that. Andi glanced back at him. She, too, was uneasy they may still have to wait to truly belong together.

"You're going to notice subtle things, both of you," Mrs. Thomas said. "In a few minutes, we'll leave you alone to test telepathy and other shared powers."

"But that's all you'll be doing," Mr. Thomas snapped.

"Yes, Lee, they get it."

"I hope so." His stare bored a hole into Ben. "Anyway, Alexandria, your entire life you've only been using half your brain's capacity. The binding opened the rest. You'll find you now know things you never learned."

"And Ben," Mrs. Thomas said, "you're going to notice you can now do things that were hinted at before with the minor binding. For example, your nose is almost completely healed, and Andi's cheek wounds might have happened days ago, not minutes."

"He could already heal," Andi said.

"What?" her parents asked simultaneously.

"When we saved his parents, I saw energy radiating off him onto them. They were practically mummies, but Ben healed them faster than possible. He also kept us awake and alert."

Her parents shared a strange look. "You don't suppose …" Mrs. Thomas said.

Mr. Thomas cut her off. "Now's not the time, Cassie."

"What's not the time?" Andi asked. "Is this about the prophecy?"

The look they gave her proved it was, though Mr. Thomas didn't budge. "As I said, now is not the time. Derian could strike at any moment. I'm hoping we have until morning, at least, but we need to be ready."

"I shouldn't have cut his head off," Ben said. "I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for, sweetie," Mrs. Thomas said. "I'd have done the same thing in your shoes." She grinned at him. "Felt good, didn't it?"

Ben smiled back. "Yeah. Very satisfying." He reached for Andi's hand while he said it.

"I don't fault you, either," Mr. Thomas said. "Though we should have waited a few days for revenge. I'm afraid if he strikes soon, neither of us," he pulled Mrs. Thomas to him, "will be of much use. You two are going to have to defeat him on your own."

"But I still don't understand," Andi said. "Why isn't cutting his head off a good thing?"

"Search your mind," her father said. "You should find the answer."

Andi frowned for a second, and then her face lit up. "Oh, yeah. Hmm, that is a problem."

"Word of caution, Ben," Mrs. Thomas said. "She's now a walking encyclopedia. No doubt she'll be a know-it-all like her father."

Ben chuckled and squeezed Andi's hand tighter, while Andi rolled her eyes and Mr. Thomas growled at his wife. Ben then asked, "So why is it bad?"

"You unleashed the demon essence from him," Mr. Thomas said. "It was the only thing holding him in that realm. He's absorbed all of the demon's powers, but he had to live with that leash. Now he's free to move around the multiverse as he likes."

"So why doesn't he come straight for us? Why is he waiting?"

"Lucky for us," Mr. Thomas said, "his head won't reattach instantly. He'll be here as soon as it does."

"And once he's here on this realm," Mrs. Thomas said, "it won't reattach at all. He'll be as powerful as a demon, but with the mortal vulnerabilities."

Mr. Thomas let out a sigh. "Like I said, it would have been better to wait until we could help, but you two can do it. As Cassie reminded me so many times before we were captured, you seem to be built for this coming battle, Ben."

Andi smiled at her father's compliment – it was still weird how he knew that without even looking at her face – and snuggled into him. Ben had to bite back a smile at the way her father gritted his teeth at that.

Before anything more could be said about the demon, the front door opened, and Ben's parents walked in. The horror was evident in their eyes from across the room. "How …" Dad said while Mom just stared.

"Trent, Heidi," Mrs. Thomas said. "It's so great to finally meet you. Sorry about the mess. We'll have it taken care of in the morning. I promise."

"But the outside," Dad said. "It looks fine."

Before anything could be said, Mom snapped out of her trance. "Cassie, Lee, you're back. So great to meet you, too, though I feel like we already know you." She grimaced at their injuries. "What happened?" She gave them both a careful hug. Though he was pleased, Ben still couldn't get over the change in his parents. Just last week, his mom would have spiraled out of control if the front rug would have been mussed out of place. Now with the entire house destroyed, she practically ignored it.

"An exciting story, I assure you," Mr. Thomas said. "But it'll have to wait. We need to talk about other things at the moment." He motioned towards the kitchen, and then turned to Andi and Ben. "Behave." With that, he limped out of the room.

"How are you walking, Lee?" Mrs. Thomas asked. "I can't heal you that fast." She turned to Ben, her eyes wide. "I feel better than I should, too. Thank you."

"Uh, yeah, sure."

"What's going on?" his mom asked. "What did Ben do?"

Mrs. Thomas took her arm and led her towards the kitchen. "We'll explain. There's a lot to talk about." Before they disappeared from view, she shot them both a "be good" look.

As soon as they were out of sight, Andi leapt into his arms, her lips devouring his. He pulled her closer, closer than should be possible, and kissed her back for all he was worth. He wanted to carry her to his room and tear her clothes off, and she wanted that more than anything, too. But they couldn't. With both sets of parents in the kitchen, they'd never get away with it.

After a few more passionate kisses, Andi pulled away from him. Both her feelings and the way she looked at him spoke to not wanting to leave his arms, but he understood. They had other business to attend to. She mouthed, "Ready?" and he nodded.

Pain flashed into his head, first just a small twinge, but then he had to grab his temples to keep his head from feeling like it was going to tear apart.

"Jeez, this hurts. Can you hear me?" Her voice was as clear as if she'd spoken aloud.

"Yeah, I hear you, but let's stop."

The pain died away all at once, and they let out simultaneous sighs, and then laughed. Their lips found each other's again, and Ben lost himself in her, as he would for the rest of eternity. Okay, so maybe it wasn't eternity, but with this expanded lifespan, it might as well be. As long as they survived what was coming.

He gasped at that thought, and she pulled away, a sudden fear bleeding off her. "What is it?"

"Nothing, sorry. I was just thinking about the danger that was coming. I didn't mean to frighten you."

"You didn't. Well, not really. It's not your fault, anyway." She grabbed him in a hug. "I can't lose you now that you're truly mine."

He stroked her cheek and placed a kiss on her forehead. "It works both ways, you know."

"I know." She chuckled.

"What?"

"It's nothing. I was just wondering if we were going to be one of those couples."

"What do you mean?"

"You know when you go to the mall and see a couple that can't keep their hands off each other? They're in their own little world, while everyone around them is gagging. Are we going to be them?"

He shook his head. "Nah. I'm sure we won't be able to keep our hands off each other long enough to hit the mall."

She burst out laughing, smacked his shoulder, and melted into him. As she did, he looked around the room at the broken furniture, the busted in windows, and the front door hanging by a single hinge.

"Andi, can I ask you something?"

"Do I have to let go?"

"No, I'd rather you didn't."

"Good. Ask away."

"It's about when my parents came home. They said they didn't notice anything was wrong until they walked in. But there's no way they wouldn't have noticed all this destruction from outside."

"I don't know. Give me a second." She pressed her face into his chest, and then looked up at him. "It's a spell. The house looks fine from the outside, no matter what's happening in here. We could blow it up, and until the spell wears off, no one would even notice."

"Makes sense. It explains how all those undead critters got in here without anyone calling the cops. Especially nosy Ms. Sherridan across the street." He looked down at her. "Wait, you had that stored in your head?"

"I know! Isn't it cool?"

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "Your mom is right. You are going to be a know-it-all."

"Whatever. Knowing a lot of stuff and being a know-it-all are two very different things." She twitched as she said it, and he felt how anxious she was.

"Hey, I'm just teasing. No need to get upset."

"I know you are. And I'm not upset. But would you mind if I transformed? I've been fighting the urge for a few minutes. I don't think I can wait any longer."

"Sure. Do you have enough room?"

"Yeah."

She kissed him once more, a quick one on the lips, and stepped back. Seconds later, she stood before him in her full dragon glory. The room did have plenty of space for her, as long as she didn't spread her wings. Every time he saw her as a dragon before, he'd thought it neat, but it didn't go too far past that. Now? She was spellbinding, and he was just as in love with her as in her human shape. It was strange to no longer think of her as dragon Andi and human Andi; she was simply Andi, his Alexandria, no matter what.

"You look magnificent." He was halfway through saying it when he realized it was in his mind, not out loud.

"Thanks," she said, loud and clear. "You're not so shabby yourself." She nuzzled up next to him and wrapped her neck around his chest. He hugged back.

"Talking like this is way better," he said. "Next time we need to say something secret, you should transform so we don't get a headache."

"I kinda doubt that's going to be possible very often. Can you imagine if you wanted to share something private in school? Dragon form wouldn't be ideal. Let's hope we don't need to keep secrets very often because that really hurt."

A loud gasp came from the kitchen area. He turned and saw Mom and Dad staring. "Hey, guys," he said. "You haven't seen Andi like this yet, have you?"

Mom shook her head, while Dad managed to say, "No, not yet."

"Make sure they know I can understand them."

"She's the same Andi, just in a different shape." He ran a hand along her neck as he talked. "She understands you perfectly, though she'll need me to relay her words." He glanced over at Andi's parents. Mrs. Thomas stood there beaming, while Mr. Thomas gave him a nod and a half-smile.

Mom stepped forward first, her eyes glued to Andi. "I knew this was all true. I think I would have even if we hadn't been taken to that … place. I don't know why. I can't explain it, even to myself." Her gaze flickered to Dad, who nodded. "Even in our darkest days, when we couldn't stand to look at each other, we couldn't leave. We needed to be there for Ben." She put her arm around Ben. "It sounds strange, but divorce might have made growing up easier for you, sweetie, but we couldn't. Something special was coming. We knew that, even if we couldn't admit it."