Dragon Marked: Supernatural Prison #1 (14 page)

It was obvious that Louis was not someone who felt the need to fill
silence, he just held my hand and walked. Which was driving me a little crazy.
I wanted to ask questions, but everything seemed so personal.

As if he’d read my mind, he started talking. “You were so tiny the first
time I saw you. Jonathon contacted me, he was frantic. I’d been very good
friends with your grandparents before they left for Spain, and I think your dad
knew I was the only one who could help him.”

I wanted him to continue with this story, so I kept my mouth closed to my
many questions.

“I had to touch you to place the protection over your mark, to make sure
its energy could not be detected.” Using his free hand he rubbed at his chin.
“I touched you first, before Mischa, and the power you contained was unlike
anything I’d experienced before.” Our eyes locked. “For the first time I
started to believe some of the stories, that the marked had a strength that
would unite across continents and the supernaturals would fall again. I thought
I should kill you.”

He said it so casually, and I shivered as I scented truth. This man had
almost ended my life twenty-two years ago.

“But then you looked at me, your eyes so large and blue, crystal clear
with the innocence only a young babe can have.” His arm fell to his side again.
“I stayed my hand. I let you both live and convinced Jonathon to send away
Lienda and Mischa. Together, the mark’s energy pulsed off each other. You were
stronger around your sister, and I couldn’t risk that the hunters would find
you. I needed to know you would stay safe.”

I was hanging on to every word. Fear and fascination flooded me
simultaneously. “Is it safe to be speaking of this here?” My eyes darted
around. I could sense no one near, but plenty were strong enough to hide from
my senses.

A smile started slowly on his lips, before spreading broadly across his
entire face. “Damn, you keep my ego in check without even trying.”

I had no idea what he was talking about.

“Our words are disguised. If anyone were listening in, it would sound as
if we were discussing the weather. No one hears my words unless I want them
to.”

I snorted out my laughter. “Right, I forgot you’re the big bad sorcerer.”

“And there you go again.”

We were still walking, past the industrial area and into the forest
behind. It was not a place I’d ever ventured into. Which was weird because we
had searched the forest all over for the prison.

“Doesn’t seem to have affected your confidence too much, so I’m not doing
my best job,” I said distractedly. “Wait, what is this place? Why have I never
seen this part of the forest?”

We were moving closer to a spectacular waterfall, surrounded on all sides
by row after row of lush flowers. The scents were washing through me, I had to
close my eyes and stop for a moment – tantalizingly sweet and spicy with hints
of floral. Finally I looked up and found a pair of purple eyes regarding me.
His expression was guarded. He no longer held my hand, so I tucked them into my
back pockets and waited.

“I like my privacy.” His low words seemed to drift along the breeze and
there was sadness layering them.

This was getting a little intense for me. I didn’t do serious
relationships for this very reason. Subject change required immediately.

“Food,” I blurted out.

His grin wiped clear some of the sadness, and the heavy emotional tone
lightened.

“Well, let’s get you some food then. I’ve heard stories of what happens
if you get too hungry.”

I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “Don’t believe everything the Compasses
say.”

“These stories were from your father,” he said with a laugh.

Great. Everyone was a comedian. Oh well, I might as well own it; the
truth doesn’t change, no matter how much I pretend different.

Louis’
home was hidden in an alcove behind the spectacular waterfall. It was single
level, simple and spacious. He didn’t need much and it showed. Still, there was
a feeling of quality and warmth in the dark gray walls – comfortable furniture
and a roaring fireplace. I sat at an island bench in the kitchen while he moved
around, gathering, chopping and cooking. For all of my love of food I had no
clue how to cook. His confidence in the kitchen was eye-candy.

He placed a large glass in front of me. It seemed to be filled with
something that looked like wine. I was feeling a little overwhelmed, so I didn’t
question. I clutched the cold vessel and took a huge gulp. It was sweet and
bubbly, tickling my throat as it descended. Warmth followed its path. Maybe it
was a little stronger than wine.

“Go easy on that. It’s fey and can be a shock if you haven’t had it
before,” Louis said before turning back to whatever was sizzling on the stove.

I was surprised. The fey had many amazing things, but most were lost to
their dying world. I wondered how the sorcerer had gotten his hands on the
drink. It was delicious though. I took another smaller sip, swirling the
flavors on my tongue. Tart, but sweet with a strong hint of mint, berry, and …
something like a spicy herb.

“Why have you waited so long to ask me on a date?” Okay, seemed as if the
drink had already loosened my tongue.

“You’re young … still far too young for me, but I took the opportunity
presented and decided to at least make your acquaintance.”

He spoke in an old fashioned manner, which was not a surprise,
considering his age. He continued speaking and also managed to cook, wipe the
bench down, and refill my glass. Wait, when did I finish that?

“I know you don’t do serious relationships, which suits me perfectly
fine, and I’d like to have you as a friend.”

I twisted the glass in my hands, the sweating condensation on the outside
coating my fingers.

“I’d like to be friends also. I’m not exactly sure what I can offer you,
besides my scintillating wit and ability to eat that of two grown men. But … I’ve
seen stranger friendships.”

“You have plenty to offer,” he said as he started to dish up. It looked
like a stir-fry with thick noodles. The smells were delicious. My stomach
started to grumble as the scents of garlic, lime, and chili hit me.

We moved into the dining area, which was a low slung wooden table with
six chairs around it. I hadn’t realized, but it was already set, and there was
more wine and crusty bread in the center. I placed my glass down and Louis set
the large dish in front of me. It was definitely a chicken stir-fry, mixed with
a colorful array of vegetables. I was almost tempted to start without him. He
grinned as he left to get his plate. Damn sorcerer was reading my mind.

To distract myself from the food, I drank some more wine, which I really
needed to stop doing. The room was starting to get slightly woozy. Usually I
could handle my alcohol no problems – not that I drank a lot, but the fast
metabolism burnt off any excess. But this fey wine was potent. Louis was back
within moments.

His laughter rang out as he sat across from me.

“What?” I said. Yeah, okay I might have been sitting there with my fork
in my hand staring at the plate.

“Looks like you’re waiting for me to say, ‘Ready, steady, eat.’”

Wait, what? Yeah, okay, maybe I was a little.

He waved a hand at me. “Dig in, don’t stress manners for me. I usually
eat on my own and have no one to impress.”

He forked the first lot into his mouth, and with a sigh I stabbed a piece
of meat and lifted it. As my lips closed around the fork I sighed again. The
flavors burst across my tongue, and for a moment I might have died and gone to
heaven.

“This is amazing, Louis. I’m impressed that you took the time to cook for
me,” I said around bites. It was taking all of my coordination to stuff my
face, breathe and talk. But I nailed it.

“You’re welcome. It has been fun.”

I could see he didn’t have a lot of that in his life.

“Aren’t you lonely out here, isolated all the time? Why don’t you move
into town?” More tactless questions.

He examined his plate for a few moments and I wondered if he was going to
ignore my questions, but he didn’t.

“When you live for a long time … well, there’s plenty of tragedy to live
through. I made a decision many years ago that I was done with the constant
pain, and to prevent any more heartache I removed myself from the world,
stopped caring so much.” His voice lowered. “Problem being that to have no love
in my world only demonstrated to me how little I was actually living. The pain
was gone, but so were the joys.”

I swallowed. “Sort of like without the lows you can’t appreciate the
highs.” I had so much happiness and love in my life, and in part it was thanks
to Louis. If he hadn’t spelled my marks…

I locked my eyes on his face. There was something that had to be said. “I
need to thank you. I’ve had a wonderful life and I might have been stuck in the
prison if my marks had been discovered as a baby.” I was pretty impressed with
my ability to multitask. I got to express my gratitude and at the same time lay
the groundwork to investigate his possible involvement in the Compass’ imprisonment.

He blinked at me a few times. “What makes you think the dragon marked are
in the supernatural prison system? Jonathon was sure that you both would be
killed.”

I shrugged. “The Compasses said that the prisoners are rife with rumors
of breakouts of dragon marked, and that there are some in Vanguard. Brax even
met a little boy in there named Nash. He’s trying to find the prison again to
free him.”

My words were kind of muddled and slurring. The wine was going straight
to my head, and the food was not helping with the sobering.

“Did you know there were marked in Vanguard?” Eh, crap, did I just say
that out loud?

“I should stop drinking,” I muttered as I stared at my empty glass. Empty
again? “Hey, who drank my drink?” I was sure I’d had a quarter left.

Louis reached across the table and captured my hands in his.

“Calm down, no one drank your drink. Well, actually, you drank it all not
one minute ago.” His even voice did help my frazzled nerves, and drunk ass. “I
had no idea about the marked. I believed, as do most of Stratford, that the
marked are killed.” He freed his right hand and pushed back blond hair that had
fallen across his forehead. “I don’t understand how this has been kept a
secret.”

I didn’t understand either. Clearly council members were not aware. Dad
would definitely have told me. Was it just up to the hunters if they killed or
captured? Was there another secret council that was higher ranked to make these
decisions? I just had so many questions. But for right now there was a more
pressing issue. I needed to use the restroom. I pushed back my chair and stood.
The room spun and I reached out and gripped the side of the table.

“Are you okay?” Louis was around my side in seconds, his arms lifting
under me and helping me stand.

“Yeah, just drunk,” I said. The room was still spinning and I needed air
and to go home before I made a fool of myself. “I need Braxton. Can you get him
to carry me home?”

Louis face hardened then. His purple eyes turned stormy and gray. “I can
take you.”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t want you to see me like this. You were so
nice making me dinner and … I might spew on your shoes.”

He rubbed his eyes, and was definitely hiding a grin. “I don’t like that
you’re running straight to the Compasses, but I get it. You don’t do intense,
and frankly, I’m not ready for that either.” He whipped out his phone and hit a
few buttons. Wow, all-powerful sorcerer knew how to text. “This was a nice
start,” I heard him murmur.

“Do you want my number?” I asked. “You can text me whenever you’re
lonely. I, like, never have my phone, but I’ll check it once a day and reply.”

I didn’t want him to feel alone anymore.

He kissed my cheek. “I already have your number, and when you get home,
mine will be in your contacts.”

There was a knock on the door then. “Okay, two things,” I said as Louis
led me through the house and helped me get my coat back on. “How did Braxton
find you here and how the hell did he get here so fast?” My feet felt funny. I
tripped and would have landed face first if strong arms didn’t surround me.

I was lifted and I could feel the cool breeze as the door opened.

“You were waiting for her?” Louis said to whomever was on the other side.
My eyelids had decided they needed a little rest, so I couldn’t see who it was.

“She’s my Jessa and I know nothing of you, sorcerer.” Braxton’s voice
washed over me and with it came a sense of comfort. “What did you do to her?”

“Stupid faerie wine,” I slurred. “Those little shits must have cast iron
stomachs – oh wait, they’re allergic to iron.” I started laughing. That was
hilarious.

“How long has she been like this?” Braxton asked.

Louis chuckled, his chest moving under me. “Long enough to be cute and
entertaining. But I don’t want her to be sick; she needs fluids and rest. Next
time I’ll shelve the fey wine for something less potent.”