Dragon Guard: Book 1: Prophecy of the Dragons (19 page)

"Yes," Dad said, his voice strained.

She looked into Andi's eyes, which were down next to Ben. "And here you are, well worth the wait." She hesitated at first, but then reached out and stroked Andi's smooth, scaly cheek. "I can tell, just by looking at Ben, that, even at this young age, you've made him the man we always hoped he'd grow into. Welcome to our family, sweetheart."

Andi transformed to human in an instant, and leapt into his mom's arms. She whispered, "Thank you," in between tears, which Mom sported down her own cheeks. Dad took a tentative step forward, and then hurried to them, engulfing both in a hug and sharing their tears.

Ben contemplated joining when the pins and needles assaulted the back of his neck. Though it was quite a jolt, they didn't incapacitate him like before. Instead, the warning spurred him to action that much quicker.

"Mom, Dad, move. Behind Andi's parents. We have company."

His mom and dad followed the orders before a half-dozen zombies burst into the house through the paneless windows and broken front door. Ben let instinct take over, and he banged his sword into his shield. Energy burst off and slammed into the zombies, disintegrating them.

"What did you do?" Mr. Thomas's voice held wonder and surprise, while Mrs. Thomas whispered, "Amazing."

"I don't know. I just acted. More are coming. Andi, maybe you should …" But before he finished, she transformed. Three vampires zipped into the house, and he tried his energy blast on them. Though it knocked them back, momentarily stunning them, they didn't disintegrate like the zombies. Were vampires stronger than zombies, or did the power of the blast diminish with each use?

As the monsters regrouped, Andi coated the creatures with her acid breath. They didn't stand a chance.

"Teamwork," she said. He could hear the smile in her voice.

"Don't get cocky, sweetie. Here come some more."

Ben heard her scoff in his mind and chuckled. They didn't have to wait long for the next wave. This time it was a mixed group of zombies, vampires, and ghosts. He hit his shield, and like with the previous two groups, each undead creature flew backwards. The zombies again disintegrated, while the vampires and ghosts lay stunned for a few seconds. Since Andi's acid breath wasn't charged up yet, he surged forward and attacked. As his sword passed through one ghost, it disappeared from existence without him even concentrating on the blade. He dodged a swipe from the other, and then dispatched it, as well. He turned and ran his sword through the three scattered vampires, all of whom Andi had taken down."

"We're invincible against the undead, babe," she said, a giddiness seeping into her voice. "Bring on the ugly necromancer."

Before he could remind her about overconfidence, her father called out, "Ben, Alexandria, remember to stay focused. Derian will prove to be an exponentially more dangerous opponent. He's merely testing you at the moment. Neither of you worry about us when he gets here. Got it?"

"Yeah," he called back.

Ben grunted as the pins and needles hit him harder than he could ever remember. Just a few hours ago a jolt that big would have knocked him on his butt. He didn't have to warn Andi, as she sensed the change in him and readied herself for the next wave of battle. The final wave, it seemed, as the necromancer pushed the front door all the way off its hinges.

"Quite a display," Derian said. "I knew they wouldn't be able to touch you, but I must admit I didn't think you would dispose of them so easily. It's a shame I have to put you down." He licked his lips as if savoring the thought. "You would make interesting living pets. But you'll have plenty of uses when I reanimate you."

Ben's anger flared, and Andi reminded him to stay calm. From behind them, a dragon roar filled the room, making Ben jump a bit. The entire roof exploded outwards as Mr. Thomas flew through it, Mrs. Thomas and Ben's parents on his back. That's what he meant by not worrying about them during the fight; they weren't going to be close enough to need protection.

"Even the mighty Leon and Cassandra know your battle is lost," Derian said. "But not to worry. After I dispose of the two of you, I'll hunt them down once and for all."

"Hardly," Andi told Ben. "They'll be back soon. They need to get your parents to a safe distance in case …" She didn't finish the thought, and he didn't press it.

"Where are my manners?" Derian said. "Let's have some fun before I kill you." He raised his hands, and four zombies walked in. These weren't just zombies, but something more. They didn't move in the same jerky motions. In fact, they moved with more grace than even a ghost. Each wore a sword on its belt, which Ben had no doubt, based on their dexterity, they'd wield with expert skill.

"What are they?" Andi asked. Could she feel their power, or had it been his emotions that gave them away?

"Zombies, but more. Super zombies, I guess. My undead index doesn't seem to have a name for them. Let's see how they like this." He smashed his sword into his shield, but the resulting blast didn't even slow the creatures. Each put a hand up in front of their eyes as if they were blocking out the sun's glare, but that was the extent of it.

"Uh-oh," he said, and Andi murmured her agreement.

Derian laughed. "You'll have to be better than that, young Dragon Guard."

With that, the four zombies drew their swords and surged forward. Andi spewed a stream of acid at the two who assaulted her, but they dodged the blast without breaking stride. Ben fended off the first strike from his two, but couldn't manage a counterstrike. As he guessed, these zombies knew how to fight.

"Andi? You okay?" he asked as he parried a few more blows with both his shield and sword.

"For now. If things get too intense, I'll hover and stay out of harm's way."

Ben parried another potentially fatal blow from one and managed a counter-attack, but the other blocked it. As he did, a burst of fiery energy flashed past his head and exploded against the wall. He glanced up to see the necromancer's evil grin. No doubt one-on-one he could dispatch the zombies. He might even manage to best them two-on-one. But could he do so with Derian hurling spells?

Andi dodged attacks from her two zombies and let loose acid towards Derian. He threw up a magical shield, rendering her breath weapon useless. "Should I launch myself at him?" she asked. "With him gone, this ends."

"No, not yet," Ben said. "We'll take out the zombies and team up on him." He didn't want to mention that he didn't think she'd survive a head-on encounter with the necromancer. Or that he'd live through all four zombies attacking at once.

"But he'll pick us off if we don't do something."

Ben didn't answer. She was right. He battled his zombies, neither gaining nor losing an inch, while keeping his extra senses trained on Andi. So far she handled herself as well as him, maybe even better. Her teeth and claws parried their attacks the same as his sword and shield. He also kept an eye on Derian, who hurled spells that barely missed and laughed with glee. It was a game to him, but when he grew bored, the spells would strike true.

He slashed at one zombie's head, and when it parried, he used the momentum to swing his shield at the other. That caught it off guard, knocking it back. He pressed his advantage, hopeful he could destroy one before the second rejoined the fight, but Derian flung multiple balls and bolts of energy, keeping him off balance. He barely got his shield up in time to block a few or to defend against the rain of blows by the remaining zombie.

Andi screamed in her dragon voice and spewed another stream of acid at Derian. While he again saved himself with a force shield, it stopped the barrage of spells. Before Ben could take out one zombie, the other rejoined the fray. Andi was right; they needed to kill Derian now to end this. And he had an idea.

"Fling me at him." He blocked simultaneous blows with his shield.

"What?"

"As hard as you can. Don't hold back, but don't let him know what you're doing."

"No, Ben. No way. Do you realize how hurt you could get? How dead?" She snapped at one of her zombies, but missed, and then had to angle her neck enough to not get it slit. He wasn't sure how tough her scales were there.

"It's the only way, Andi." Two near misses from his zombies drew his full attention back. He came closer to striking them, in fact almost had them figured out, but then what? As soon as he cut down these two, would more appear? Or would Derian burn him where he stood? Burn them both, though that didn't matter. If one died, so did the other. There was no other way. They had to kill Derian now before he got tired of toying with them.

Andi's zombies then made a mistake. Both leapt at her, but she read it and snatched them in her powerful hind legs and crushed. It didn't kill them, but mangled their bodies enough to incapacitate them for the time being. The necromancer laughed, enjoying this turn of events. That wasn't good. What did he have planned next?

"Andi, it has to be now. As hard as you can. And don't let him know what we're up to. Trust me, it'll work."

Fear and doubt bled from her, but also acceptance. He did his best to keep his attention on his zombies so as not to telegraph the plan himself. He found a few holes in their attacks, and could have cut them both down in no time flat, but he kept them there as a diversion. The necromancer hurled bolts of energy that Andi had no problem dodging. She maneuvered herself to Ben, making it look like she was going to help against the zombies, but instead let loose a stream of acid at Derian. As his invisible shield blocked the blast, she grabbed Ben by the back of his shirt and hurled him straight for the necromancer. Derian lowered his shield as soon as the acid was done. When Ben rocketed towards him, he threw his hands up to protect himself, but it was too late. The sword pierced first his chest, and then his heart. As Ben smacked into the ground, and slid hard into the wall, Andi's emotions told him they'd won.

Everything went dark.

Ben opened his eyes and blinked out the light coming from the window. He was in the guest room of Andi's house that had been his for a couple of nights. Had it all been a dream? Were his parents still prisoners in the demon realm?

As soon as he sat up, Andi tackled him, pinning him back on the bed, her lips assaulting his. As soon as he got over the shock, he kissed back.

"Alexandria," came her father's voice. "Let the boy breathe." Ben was surprised, but glad, that there was actual amusement in his voice.

She climbed off of him, her gaze locked on his eyes. "Sorry," she said, which caused him to chuckle. She wasn't sorry at all. Neither was he. Especially since he felt her emotions so clearly. None of it had been a dream.

Mom and Dad stood with Andi's parents. They all wore smiles, but he had no doubt worry had creased each of their faces minutes before. "How long have I been out?"

"Twelve long, stupid hours," Andi said. "I told you throwing you as hard as I could was dangerous."

"Worked, though, didn't it?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, but …"

He cut her off with a quick kiss. It worked, as she smiled and melted into his arms.

"That's enough of that," Mr. Thomas said, his voice back to the annoyed anger of whenever Ben and Andi were too close.

"Before they get back," Mrs. Thomas said, ignoring her husband's tone, "we need to discuss Rico."

Ben glanced to the doorway and saw his parents no longer there. Before he could ask where they went, Andi said, "We owe him a second favor now. Which is totally unfair because we already got some ugly statue for him."

"Be glad that was all he had you do," Mr. Thomas said. "He must sense real potential." His eyes were on Ben when he said it.

"He said …" Andi started, but her father cut her off.

"Tell me later. I have a good guess of what he said, but let's get through this first. I don't want to scare Trent and Heidi.

"Rico will call on us when it suits him, not us. He'll wait for a moment when it won't alert mortals, but other than that, we're fair game. And we've given our word, which is a binding contract for him, meaning we'll be compelled to complete whatever task he sets out for us, regardless of the danger."

"It'll be something we want to complete, though," Mrs. Thomas said. "Even if he hadn't promised, Rico is good about that. He knows motivation gives the best chance of success."

"When will he call us?" Ben asked.

"Could be tomorrow, could be in 100 years," Mr. Thomas said. "It depends when he needs us. Remember, always be ready. He'll have the four of us complete one task together, but you two are on your own for the second."

They nodded, and Ben's parents came in. Mom held a donut box, while Dad had two glasses of milk. He handed one to Ben and one to Andi, while Mom set the donuts on the bed in front of them. There were two glazed, two raspberry jellies, and two maple bars, all his favorites, and, no surprise, hers, too.

They both grabbed a maple bar. "Andi refused to eat until you were better," his mom said. With his mouth full, Ben could only roll his eyes at his beautiful mate. She should have eaten. She nudged him with her elbow and rolled her eyes back. No, she shouldn't have.

Dad cleared his throat. "Maybe this would be a good time to share with the kids what we discussed."

"Excellent idea," Mrs. Thomas said, followed by nods from everyone else.

Andi leaned over to whisper in Ben's ear. "I knew they were talking about us, but they wouldn't let me join in."

"We were, and, no, we didn't," Mrs. Thomas answered in a mock whisper, which brought out a chuckle from Ben and another eye roll from Andi.

"Don't we already know?" Ben said. "We have to pretend we're dating for 150 years, right?" Andi gave an internal wince at that, which Ben shared. They should be together every second possible now, not follow some silly rule of waiting fabricated by overprotective parents.

"Things have changed," Mrs. Thomas said. She looked at Mr. Thomas and took his hand. "For all his bravado, Lee knows he never would have been able to wait for me for so long. Nor I for him. So, in three human years, you two will be married."

"We'll have big wedding. Huge!" Ben's mom said. She rushed forward and gave Andi a crushing hug. "Oh, you'll be such a beautiful bride. We can start planning soon, and take everything slow since it's still a few years away. This is going to be so much fun."

Andi was too shocked to speak, so Ben asked their question. "Why three years? Why not wait until we're 18 in dragon years like you said? Or just do it now?" Which is what he and Andi wanted.

"No son of mine is getting married before he's 18," Dad said.

"Sorry, kids," Andi's mom said. "Society is different from when we were bound. In three years, you'll both be 18, at least as far as everyone knows."

"Ha," Andi said, a sour look on her face. "If we're going by human years, it's not a problem for me."

"It's against my wishes," Mr. Thomas said, "But I know it's necessary. So when you two graduate from high school, you'll wed."

Excitement flared in Andi, and it had nothing to do with talk of the wedding. "I get to graduate? You're going to let me graduate?"

Her mom laughed and went over to give her a big hug, while her dad gave her a smile and a wink. Andi cried tears of joy and practically crushed Ben's fingers as she reached over to take his hand. He couldn't quite make out what the big deal was, but he'd find out later.

"Yes, you get to graduate," her father said. "But since we have a few years to worry about that, as well, why don't you two tell us all about what happened while we were stuck out there. I've been patient long enough."

He and Andi explained everything that happened while her parents had been trapped in Derian's realm. None of it much mattered anymore since they'd won, but they went over every detail. Her parents didn't interrupt the story, which Ben and Andi took turns telling, and the only parts they showed any sort of reaction to at all were Ben's supposedly impossible feats. Ben tried to downplay what he did while he told the story, but Andi wouldn't let him. He wanted to say she exaggerated her tellings, but she didn't, not really.

When they were through, Ben's dad was the first to speak. "Wow, that was quite something. You guys didn't tell us all of it."

"We didn't want to freak you out too much," Ben answered.

His mom smiled. "I always knew you were destined to be something great. And I don't mean that because I'm your mother."

"That's more true than you know, Heidi," Mrs. Thomas said. "It's more than likely he'd have had much of this power without having become Andi's guard. Those powers look to be simply complimentary. When we found out he could sense the undead before the two of them were even given a minor binding, we …"

"That's enough, Cassie," Mr. Thomas said, while Ben and Andi simultaneously said, "What?"

The silence in the room was deafening, with Ben, Andi, and Ben's parents waiting breathlessly for an explanation, while Andi's parents said nothing. Aloud, anyway. Both had the severe headaches of telepathic communication. Once their pain subsided, Mrs. Thomas broke the silence.

"We'll talk about it another time. We promise."

"No," Ben and Andi said, but Mr. Thomas ended any debate.

"Later," he said. The tone of his voice was such that even Andi didn't argue.

Ben looked at his parents, and a thought struck him. "At least you guys will get to see the wedding." He hadn't given it much thought, but now he realized they would end up missing most of his life. That sucked. No, that was beyond suck. Especially now that they were back to the type of parents he wanted.

"Actually, kid, we're going to see a lot more than just the wedding," Dad said.

Huh? "But if I only age one year for every fifty human years, how is that possible?"

"Cassie and Lee offered us a gift, and we accepted," his mom said. She beamed at Andi's parents and gave Mrs. Thomas a hug. "The most wonderful present we could ever imagine."

"It's unfair for the Dragon Guard's parents to be robbed of their child," Mr. Thomas said. "So it's within our power to offer the dragon lifespan to them."

"Yeah," Mrs. Thomas said, her arms still around Ben's mom. She winked. "You can't expect them to miss out on meeting their grandchild, can you?"

What? Grandchild? But how …?
"We haven't …"

The adults all laughed, even Mr. Thomas. Andi's look of horror mirrored his own.

"That's right. You haven't," Mr. Thomas said, but with his humor surprisingly intact. "And you won't until we allow you to have a mortal wedding."

Before either could say anything (and what could they say to that, anyway, especially to their parents?) Mrs. Thomas said, "Don't worry. Dragons are physically unable to conceive or create a child until they are around 1000 years old. But without that worry, it'll make your first couple hundred years of marriage that much more fun."

"Mother!" Andi yelled, while her father screamed, "Cassandra!"

Ben's parents laughed, but also pulled her parents out of the room. "Okay, let's leave the kids alone for awhile," his mom said. She glanced back at them with a stern look. "As long as the door stays open and you promise to be good."

Ben chuckled and nodded, but Andi was still too embarrassed by her mother's words. When they were alone, she glanced at him shyly.

Then she pounced.

To be continued in Book 2: Dragon Dreams

(And keep reading for an excerpt from Dragon Dreams)