Fighting For Her Dragon (6 page)

The vibria born of human parents who possesses the spirit of the last female born of two dragons, then lost in plain sight.

Born to an extinct race, thought to be one but actually two. Both with destinies blessed by Fate, neither knowing the other exists, when reunited can nullify death to bring back the one needed to complete the circle.

A calling to heal, a hidden nature, a history long forgotten…all protected in the heart of a woman destined to complete a warrior and his beast. The revelation of all she is brought forth from the joining with her mate.

A complete circle of all called and confirmed, their mates and their families then increased by one, the twin of the warrior, also brother of the lost one, will become the Twelve – a whole, perfect, harmonious unit that will bring about the Great Miracle.

When all is complete and the Miracle recognized, the Ancients will speak through the Special One and the Child. They will bless the Clan the color of the summer sky and the water when it is calm. This Clan and only this Clan, along with their mates as they become known, will battle the denizens of Hell and bring the Devil himself to his knees.

If one of the twelve is missing or the blessing is not completed, all hope is lost. Hell has won the war.”

A collective ‘son of a bitch' filled the cavern after a few seconds of complete silence, Andrew’s included.

When I wanted to destroy the dragons I couldn’t catch a break. Now, I want them alive and it looks like I’m gonna be responsible for their downfall after all. All the planning in the world can’t beat dumb luck…

CHAPTER SIX

“Sorry I’m late to the party,” Rayne called out as he entered the cavern and stopped dead in his tracks, looked around, and took a stance like he was ready to take action. “What the hell happened in here?” His voice had taken on a suspicious tone.

“Oh, nothing much,” Aaron growled. “Siobhan found out that without Andrew, we’ve pretty much doomed dragon kin and probably the world. You know, nothing we can’t handle. All in a day’s work.” Charlie, his mate, swatted his shoulder and gave him a look that said she would deal with him later.

“What the…?” Rayne couldn’t even finish his sentence, just looked from one to the other of the Guardsmen of his Force.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much the consensus, only we got a little more ‘flowery’ with our comments,” Aidan confirmed, standing behind his mate as if to protect her and his unborn children from whatever was sure to come next.

Grumbling and whispers came from all around the room. Emma was just about to speak when Siobhan stepped forward. “All right, everyone. Now is the time to pull together and look for solutions, not blame.”

Rian appeared behind Rayne with Carrick and Zachary in tow. “What did we miss?”

“I have found what I can only assume to be a prophecy. It has several components that have to do with ‘the Special One and the Child’ receiving a blessing from the Ancients that will be passed on to the Blue Dragons and allow them to fight, and I quote ‘the denizens of Hell and the Devil himself.’ ”

The oldest of them all, Zachary, stepped forward, heading directly to Siobhan. “Let me see what you’ve found, my dear.”

The Elder Healer handed the older dragon the original parchment. Zachary nodded as he read. Emma held her breath and realized everyone else was doing the same thing. Carrick soon joined the two Elders, reading over his counterpart’s shoulder. The tension in the room was palpable, and the longer the three Elders read, the worse it got, until Emma was finding it hard to breathe.

Finally, Zachary turned to the group, looking from one to the other of the Guardsmen and nodding when he was sure he had their attention. He smiled and began to explain. “I have heard rumor of this prophecy since I was a young man. It is daunting to know that it truly exists, but it is nothing we cannot handle. I have sent word to Malachi. It has been his life’s work to study every occurrence of the Special Ones throughout our history. As for the others mentioned in the document, we can worry about that later. Just as you have been taught all of your lives…tackle what you know, the rest will fall into place. I have no doubt each of you has the heart to protect what means the most.” The older gentlemen laid his fist to his chest. “And the brains to know what is important.” He pointed to his temple. “I am sure Malachi will be able to guide us through what is to come.”

The stunned awe on every face in the cavern would have been comical had the looks not come from cataclysmic news. No one spoke. None moved. Emma wondered if they were breathing. In the years she’d spent with the dragons, she’d never been privy to the inner workings and wondered if Kyra had a spell to turn back time.

Being in the ‘in-group’ isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Carrick, someone Emma had always held in high esteem, added, “You must remember all your training. Dragons do not give up. We are the Universe’s chosen and as such, She will constantly test our resolve, our strength, and our ability to join together in pursuit of a common goal. But She will never give us anything we cannot overcome.”

Aidan was the first to regain his composure. “I understand what you’re saying, but we’re dancing around the obvious. Andrew is gone…dead. How can he be present? How can he accept the Blessing, let alone present it to the Blue Dragons, if he is in Hell? Is there another Special One we don’t know about?”

“But he’s not.” A tiny little voice came from the back of the room.

Acting as one and reminding Emma of marionettes, the entire group turned one hundred and eighty degrees and looked at the little girl that had just spoken. The beautifully bright child sat playing with her dolls as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

Because she doesn’t. Somehow the little beauty is hooked into the Universe more than any of us. She’s got a behind the scenes look and isn’t worried at all.

Sam and Lance were kneeling next to their daughter, obviously embarrassed at her outburst and asking what the child had meant. Emma caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning, she saw Carrick and Zachary making their way towards the family. Once there, both Elders sat down on the stone floor beside the child. Not something that happened every day.

Sydney looked up and smiled at both men before confirming her previous statement. “Andrew’s not dead, least not all the way, and he’s not in…” She stopped and looked at her mom, who smiled and nodded. “Hell,” the little girl whispered.

Both Elders chuckled, then Zachary asked, “And how do you know that, Sydney?”

“First, I saw him but couldn’t talk to him, and then I got to talk to him. He’s not so bad, ya’ know?”

She crooked her index finger and made a ‘come here’ motion. When the Elders faces were next to hers, she whispered, “He wants to come back really bad. Emma’s his mate and he’s worried something’s gonna happen to her. I think he already kinda loves her and she’s thinking about him lots.” Sydney stopped and Emma wished she knew how to make herself invisible as everyone looked at her like she was crazy.

Why are they surprised? I told them we were mates. I even yelled in public.

“Where is he, Sydney? Can we talk to him?” Carrick asked, the authority of years of leadership making his words more resounding…more forceful.

“Andrew called it the Fades. Don’t know what that is except for a dark, blank place. Andrew’s dragon is there too. He’s not happy ‘bout it at all. He chuffs a lot and blows smoke.”

“I see,” Zachary absentmindedly answered as he stood.

Emma heard commotion outside the cavern just a second before Malachi, the Spiritual Elder of their clan, appeared carrying three of the biggest books she’d ever seen. Without a word, he approached Siobhan and the two went directly to the Healer’s workspace at the back of the room.

“Emma, can you come here?” Zachary asked, making her feel like she’d been called to the principal’s office for playing hooky.

“Yes, sir,” she said, hurrying to the Elder.

She’d barely stopped when he asked, “Can you feel him? Has he spoken to you?”

Nodding while she found her voice, she answered barely above a whisper, “I can feel him. Syd’s right. He’s stuck in the In-between.”

“Looks like we better bring him back if we want to keep the status quo.” He started to turn away and then came back to face her. “How are you? I heard you finding out you had a mate was not easy for you.”

“I’m fine, sir. It wasn’t, but I’m okay. I just want him back.”

Placing his hand on her shoulder, Zachary drew Emma into a hug. She was immediately swamped with feelings of warmth and comfort. When the Elder set her back, he looked into her eyes, smiled, and asked, “Do you know how truly special you are?”

Unsure what to say, she shook her head and waited, hoping Zachary would explain. Instead, he turned on his heel and headed to Siobhan and Malachi. Not sure what to do, Emma just looked around the room. Carrick was speaking with Rayne, Rian, Aaron, and Aidan, and from the looks on the twins’ faces, it was not a happy conversation.

Continuing her surveillance, she found Kyra and Royce talking to Sam and Lance. It was obvious from the way the adults took turns looking at Sydney that the child was the topic of conversation. She wondered what they were talking about, and in the next heartbeat, could hear their conversation.

All right I’ll ask questions later. Right now I need to know what they’re talking about.

“There’s absolutely nothing to worry about. I only need Sydney to sit with me and say the spell at the same time I do so I can scry for Andrew’s location,” Kyra explained.

“It’s not you I’m worried about. Andrew already used her against us once; I’ll have to kill him if he does it again.” Lance paused and then added, “Well, kill him again, or still, or what the hell ever, you get what I’m saying. There’s no way in this world or the next I’m letting that little piece of crap get his hands on her.” 

Emma was infuriated. She knew what they all thought of her mate, but to hear it with her own ears was tough and more than a little insulting. Here they all were faced with some crazy ass prophecy detailing the end of the world as they knew it and they were still bitching about Andrew.

Deciding she’d heard enough, Emma turned to go to Siobhan. Three steps towards her destination and she realized she could still hear everything everyone in the room was saying. It was completely disconcerting, not to mention that listening to all the bitching and complaining was giving her one hell of a migraine. Unable to deal with the chaos a second longer, she turned towards the door and exited as quickly as she could.

Winding through the corridors, she found an empty cavern lit by one white and one blue pillar candle, surrounded by a circle of golden votive candles on a small, stone table. Pushed by the need for a few moments of blessed silence, Emma crossed the threshold and moved across the room to stand before the lights.

Staring into the flame of the white candle, she concentrated all of her energy on shutting out everything but the beating of her own heart. Thump…thump…thump… She’d always heard it was more of a whish sound, but in this case, it was most definitely a thump.

With the noise of everyone else’s conversations silenced, Emma was finally able to focus, to think about all that had happened and what she feared would happen if they weren’t able to stop the shit storm that was heading their way. For some reason, she wasn’t afraid as much as irritated that she’d spent so many years keeping her head down, living among the dragons but not truly with them. She’d always felt like an outsider looking in, someone they loved and accepted, but that was different nonetheless. But that all changed the moment she’d heard Andrew’s voice in her head. It was not something she’d wanted, not something she’d ever dreamt of happening, but something she now embraced.

Something inside of her had come to life. Siobhan would call it her stronger self, and maybe the Elder Healer would be right, but it was more than that. More than knowing she, Emma Sinclair, had been created especially for another being. That she would bring light to not only a man that was meant to be her partner in every, way but also to his dragon. Any other time she would’ve felt trapped, like she was stuck in a situation she had no control over and was being made to live someone else’s life, but it was just the opposite. For the first time, she was actually living, not just existing. Her soul was free and becoming stronger by the day.

The pain she’d shared with Andrew had been worth it and she would suffer it again if it meant having him back and having the opportunity to get to know him. To see if all the talk about Fate not being denied was the truth or just something left over from a long forgotten time.

Still staring into the flame, watching it flicker, she saw her mate’s mismatched eyes that seemed to be trying to tell her something, and then those same eyes set about the snout of a great black dragon. Emma was sure the O’Briens were silver dragons; as a matter of fact she knew they were from the jewelry she’d made for both Grace and Charlie. How then was it possible for Andrew’s piercing eyes to have been looking at her from the face of a huge black beast?

Not sure what it all meant, and not ready to go back to the chaos in the other room, Emma sat cross-legged on the stone floor and was just about to begin meditating when Aaron called her name from the corridor.

“In here,” she answered, trying not to sound irritated. Standing, she turned just as he entered the room.

“We’ve been looking all over for you. You’ve been gone for almost three hours.” The Guardsman stood just inside the doorway, avoiding eye contact while trying to act nonchalant.

“Three hours? Time flies…”

The old Emma would’ve acted like nothing out of the ordinary was wrong and left the room, letting the brooding Guardsman off the hook for his behavior. The new Emma, however, wanted to know what was going on.

“Well, here I am. What’s up?”

“
Malachi, Siobhan, and Zachary have found something.” He turned to go, but Emma was not about to be dissuaded.

Closing the distance between them in record time, she placed her hand on his shoulder. “No, I mean what is going on with you?”

“Nothing. Well, nothing more than having to find a way to bring my little brother back from the dead. The little brother who just happens to have terrorized everyone and everything I hold dear for the last ten years. The part that I just can’t wrap my head around is why him? Why is the piece of shit that tried to ruin the world the one person we have to have to save it? None of this shit makes any sense. It goes against everything I believed in, fought for, and wanted to achieve my whole life.” He spun around, and for the first time in all the years she’d known Aaron, she could see uncertainty in his eyes.

“Oh! Let me not forget.” It was his turn to place his hand on her shoulder. “I found out that one of the best people I’ve ever known, a woman I think of like a little sister, is his mate. I should be happy for you. I want to be happy for you, but instead, I’m freaked the fuck out.