Love of the Dragon (Her Dragon's Bane 4) (13 page)

Resting for a minute, she took her phone out and checked it again. Still no bars. Reluctantly she followed the path that led to the road and then turned towards the town, which was behind a small hill. She hoped that once she was on top of the hill she would pick the signal up. The last thing she wanted to do, at this time of night, was to be seen loitering around town. Talk about suspicious, plus she was still aware of the free bus ride she might be wanted for. Hardly enough to make her appear on a “most wanted” list. But this was a small island and you never knew how fast news travelled.

The road was deserted and she walked quickly, Azure now safely tucked away in her shirt. Charlotte held her phone out in front of her, watching for the bars to light up. It had already started to beep at her, telling her the battery was low. She only hoped she could make the call before it ran out completely. Picking up her pace, she didn’t notice the movement to her right.

Only when footsteps sounded on the road behind her, did her head shoot up. Turning around, she saw two men about four feet behind her. They had appeared from the bushes on the side of the road, very suspicious. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest and she figured her only option was to run. Tearing her gaze away from them, she sprinted forward. Straight into a solid wall of man flesh.

His hands grabbed her arms, making her phone fly out of her hand and smash on the road. She looked up at her captor and screamed. His gloved hand covered her mouth, his head coming down level with her ear.

“Hello, Charlotte. I’ve been looking for you for a very long time. Say hello to your Uncle Samuel.”

She couldn’t speak. Too shocked by the ruined face. The dragon fire had maimed him, but somehow he had escaped the church where they had left him burning. Connor and Zoah had been so sure he was dead. They had been wrong; now her past was coming back to haunt her.

“I can see you are so happy to see me that you can’t put it into words. Don’t worry, we’ll have some time to chat and catch up on our journey.”

She tried to pull away from him, reaching up to tear at his hideous face. In return, he slapped her across the face; she had forgotten how good he was at making her lip bleed. Her knees hit the hard road and she cried out in pain.

“Bring her,” Samuel said.

One of the other men picked her up and put her over his shoulder. Then they walked some way down the road, while Samuel spoke on a radio. In her dazed state, she couldn’t make out what he was saying, but a few minutes later a car pulled up and she was bundled in the trunk. As the dark encased her, she felt her life, her freedom, slipping away. She couldn’t let this happen. Not again.

There was only one way Serena and the dragons would be able to find her. This was why Azure had been created and she had foolishly taken him with her. What good was a tracking dragon if he was attached to the thing he was supposed to find? She was such a fool. Once more, because of Tara, she was in the hands of Samuel. Had the witch been an insider all this time? Where exactly did her loyalty lie, other than to herself?

As the car hurtled along, she tried to piece it all together. Was Tara intent on betraying all the dragons? If Charlotte somehow asked them for help, would she be leading them into a trap, or would they be able to rescue her?

She took Azure out from inside her shirt. “I need you to help me, Azure.”

The little dragon blew fire, lighting up the dark interior for a second, giving her a glimpse of the inside of the trunk. As far as she could see, there was nothing in here to help her escape and no catch to open it from the inside. She hadn’t expected there to be. Charlotte was sure she wasn’t the first person Samuel had kidnapped. She was certain he would have made sure that once she was in here, she would stay in here.

Azure flew around once more before settling down on her shoulder. He looked at her with his trusting eyes; all he wanted to do was stay with her. But she had to send him away. The question was, whether he actually understood her enough to do as she asked.

“Azure.” The little dragon nuzzled against her. This was going to be hard. “Azure. You have to go. When they open the trunk you have to fly back to Fin.”

Azure hopped up and down, looking distressed. Did he understand? She decided to repeat her words. This time using hand signals as much as the space in the cramped trunk allowed.

“Azure. You have to go and find Fin. Then you can lead him here to me.”

Nothing in his expression showed he understood and her hope faded. At the same time, the car slowed and then stopped. She could hear the sound of waves. Her blood ran cold. Samuel had a personal vendetta against her because of what happened before. He might just be bringing her here to drown her and then send the body back to Zoah. That would be the ultimate revenge.

Faint light flooded the trunk as it was opened. Two men stood staring down at her; she tried to make sure Azure couldn’t be seen. Hoping that if they handled her roughly he wouldn’t be squashed or injured.

A hand went under her arm. She thought about turning to kick the man attached to it, but decided violence wasn’t going to get her anywhere. They were stronger than she was and there were two of them. Feeling like a coward she went meekly, looking around to see what Samuel had planned for her.

There was a boat bobbing on the water. A small group standing around it. The man who held onto her lifted her up and put her in the boat.

“Hands behind your back.”

She didn’t even answer, quietly doing as he asked. The less attention that was on her, the better. Her hands were bound together and secured to a seat in the back of the boat. They didn’t want her bailing out when they were out in the open sea. That at least gave her hope. They didn’t plan to kill her right away.

Samuel, a hood covering his disfigured face, climbed on board and sat watching her. She turned her face away and looked back to the island. It had been a short stay after all. But she was not leaving under the circumstances she had hoped. Instead of going back home, she was being taken further away.

Her only hope was that Fin would be able to get help. She didn’t know how. He never left the Labyrinth, but it was her only chance. That was if poor little Azure made it there. Against all his natural instincts, the little dragon had found the strength to fly away. As she watched him fade from view, he blew fire from his mouth. Tears welled in her eyes, what a mess she had made; she only hoped that no one else got hurt because of her.

“I’m so sorry, Zoah,” she said quietly as they pulled away from land. One way or another she was destined to break his heart. He deserved better.

He had begun to pace up and down in agitation. She had been gone too long. The moon had risen high in the sky in the time he had waited, so it wasn’t just his mind playing tricks. There was nothing he could do. He couldn’t leave here. This was where he had dwelled for centuries; he couldn’t go into the town to see if he could find her.

Not without a cloak or something to cover his head. Nervous, but knowing he had to do something, he ran back down the pathways to where he slept. There he rummaged through the contents until he found a something suitable. It wasn’t exactly a cloak, more of a small blanket, but it would do. Cursing at the time it had taken him, he raced back through his Labyrinth until he got to the opening. There he stopped.

Of all the things he had done, leaving the Labyrinth by this route had not been one of them. He didn’t know anything about the world outside, other than what he had been told by Serena and Charlotte. It was a world full of light and noise. Where machines, what he imagined to be creatures without souls, moved around. Then there were the people. He had always brought fear and horror on to his victims, so why would it be any different if anyone saw him in the flesh today? He might have fallen into myth and legend, but no one could mistake him for what he was.

“Fool,” he said to himself. He moved forward, prising himself out of the Labyrinth, his shoulders almost too broad for the gap. This entrance had originally been closed up, but over time the boulder had slipped and fallen away. There was enough gap to make an entrance, but he never used it. He had developed a phobia of the outside world. He knew what sins he had committed and that the payment would always have to be in blood.

However, those days had long past, this new world was frightening enough on its own. He survived on fish from the sea and water from the underground stream. Then he collected anything useful that might be swept up on his shore. Wood for a fire and old fishing wire were his only real necessities; anything else was stored for future need. When Serena visited, she brought him blankets, food and soap. His first bath had been a little unnerving. The small block of scented magic erupted into bubbles when he wet it and rubbed it on his skin. He had half expected it to make his body dissolve. Instead, it washed away the dust from the dirt paths he roamed endlessly. Serena had smiled with pleasure at the sight of him all clean and fresh. If only it could have washed away his sins.

It was for her that he climbed up to the road. He couldn’t bear it if he stood by and let her sister be harmed. Not if he could stop it. Looking one way and then the other, he pondered which way to go. In one direction lay the faint glow of lights, in the other darkness. The town was where she would head towards if she wanted her phone to work. Another contraption invented by the gods so that they could contact each other with telepathy. It made him shudder how the gods had given such power to the ordinary people. No wonder the gods had dropped from meaning in this world. They no longer feared Zeus, or Poseidon.

Along the road he walked, his eyes constantly casting forward and back. Nothing came along the road, which still held the heat of the day. It was warm on his feet; he looked at it and wondered at the black road. Did it lead to Hades?

Then he saw it. Broken and cracked. Her phone. Going to it, he bent down on to one knee to look at it. Had she managed to tell the dragons where she was? Or had the dragons done this to her in their bid to silence her?

He picked it up. There was no light on it now. As he turned it over, he started and nearly dropped it. There, clinging to it with the last of his strength, was Azure. This was not good. He gently lifted the little dragon up and held him in his palm, thinking he was broken too. A puff of smoke came out of his nostrils, proving Fin wrong. He was alive. But only just.

Fin stood for several minutes trying to decide what to do. These troubles were for humans. He had never had to make more of a decision than whether he was going to eat a man or not. This was beyond him.

Should he go on and try to find Charlotte, or go back to his Labyrinth and save Azure. He looked down at the pathetic creature. It was true what he was not of this world, his heart didn’t beat and his lungs did not breathe. Yet still he blew out fire and found joy in the world. His attraction to Charlotte was incredible. So, too, his inner strength. Either, somehow, he had managed to keep himself here despite his need to follow her, or he had flown here. Whichever it was, Azure had one goal. To find help for Charlotte and lead them back to her.

Fin made his decision; he turned and ran back to the Labyrinth. Relieved to be out of the human world, he slipped into his sanctuary. There he hesitated, tempted to pull the stone back against the hole so he would never be able to leave his home again. But he might have to, with no way of contacting Serena; he might be the only one to help her. First, he had to revive Azure; he raced back to the fire, which had burned down to warm embers. Almost burning his fingers, he placed the little dragon by the side of it.

As he stood up, he became aware of a presence in the rock chamber with him. Turning, he saw the Dragon Lord. “Good evening, beast. I think you have something that belongs to us. I warn you, if you do not hand over the girl Charlotte, we will kill you and end your reign of terror.”

Out of the shadows came four other dragons. Fin had never seen them all together. If he hadn’t known better, he would have thought the dragons were going to war.

“Welcome to my new home, Charlotte. Enjoy your stay; it won’t be a long one.” Samuel sneered at her, or at least that was what she thought he was doing. His face looked even worse in the electric light illuminating the large warehouse they were standing in.

“A little bit more modern than the church,” she said, trying not to show her fear.

“Don’t worry. It has all the latest gadgets. But it all takes money to restore my place of power since you trashed my last empire with those ancient reptiles. Still. You will repay me.”

She had to ask. “How?”

“Well. A woman like you fetches a high price.”

“A woman like me? There is nothing special about me.”

“On the contrary.” He came towards her, and she tried not to flinch as the light showed her every inch of his burnt face. Skin stretched and shiny pulled into all manner of crazy ridges and craters. “As far as I am aware, you have not been claimed by that dragon of yours.”

How did he know about Zoah being her mate? Not to mention that they had not consummated the mating bond?

“Don’t worry. I’ve made sure you fetched a high price. I am doing a roaring trade in virgins.” He laughed. “Sorry, inside joke. Only it seems there are plenty of misfits who want a little innocent virgin of their own to break. But don’t worry. Your owner is particularly cruel. I might even see if he will film your first ... coupling, so that I can show your poor, distraught dragon. I hear he isn’t feeling too well. But not as bad as he when he finds out what happened to you.”

“He’ll kill you.”

“No. I don’t think so. He tried before and failed. And that was before his little accident.”

“What accident?”

“He fell from the sky.”

Her skin was damp with sweat, chilling her body as a sense of dread swept over her. She refused to believe him. She would never let him have power over her again. “He will come.”