Taken by the Dragon King (3 page)

Chapter Five

“You are a Fire Witch my dear,” Georgia informs me with a smirk on her face.

“What is a Fire Witch?” I ask dubiously. In all my training and schooling I’ve never heard it used before. I wonder if it’s some kind of joke like a stump witch, insulting for when you want to laugh at someone’s inability to perform traditional witchcraft. I’ve definitely heard that one a few times. Go figure.

“We’re not really sure how Fire Magic works,” Georgia admits, seemingly taking control of the meeting. All of the others watch hesitantly. I suppose Witch magic is her specialty. Who better to explain it than a witch?

“We think that as the Fae came into power, they threw us back into an age of Earth magic. Fire magic was incredibly rare before we came to rely on the Dragons. A new age, perhaps the Age of Fire, is coming to be.  For this reason, we have you and some others with a more… unique kind of magic.” She smiles warmly at me before continuing. “As the witch that was prophesied to bring about the unraveling of this mess, we suspect that your own abilities and power are much higher than the others that we have managed to find.”

“Others?” I suppose she means the other candidates. Great.

“Oh yes. I believe you’ve already met Ruby.” As she says this Ruby walks up onto the platform followed closely by at least a half dozen other women. I can see that they are all shapes and sizes, but we share one obvious common feature. Each of these women have different shades of red hair! I see strawberry blonde and even a deep maroon. “These are the other women we were watching and guarding as their magic is also ‘broken’ like yours. There are more of them, but these are the strongest.” I feel their eyes on me watching, evaluating. Not all of them look friendly. “They’re your new coven.” Georgia says without batting an eye.

“Wait!” I say trying to understand. “A coven? I don’t understand, why would I need a coven?”

“You, my dear, are going to act as a conduit. We think that your Fire Magic have been overlooked because it wasn’t a part of their original Fae spell. Hopefully, it won’t recognize you and limit your power as it does when we cast.” She looks at the assembled women with pity. “We imagine that your magic is more aligned with the Dragons, that’s why it’s currently ‘broken’. With Asher in power, these women will most likely be the most powerful mages we have today.” Turning back to me with a serious expression she persists, “Working together, your coven will feed you their power, which you will then channel into Asher. Once enough magic is channeled into him the spell will break, recognize him, and attempt to realign itself with its natural path, the Dragons.”

Geez, that sounds a little complicated. I just figured out how to put books back on the shelves, this might be a little over my head.

“No,” Asher says firmly. “Absolutely not, it’s too dangerous! She’s barely comfortable with using magic as it is, she can’t do this.”

My rage flares. It’s what I’ve heard my whole life.
Don’t even try. You’re not strong enough for this spell. She’s barely a witch, she can’t do it.
I thought Ash believed in me! He was just telling me that I need to act like I’m more important. What can be more important than this? I can’t let Ash go back into that trap. I can’t stand to lose him again. The council seems to think I can do this. I’m not quite a sure, but I have to!

“No Melinda,” Ash says, looking at me like he can read my mind. Melinda? What happened to my cute little nickname Lindy? My blood boils with rage. He sounds just like my father. I ball my fists to keep from slapping him.

“This is really up to her, Your Majesty,” Georgia intervenes, seeing my rage and taking advantage of the moment.

“I’m doing this,” I say purposefully not making eye contact with Ash. “I am going to try at the very least.”

“No, you aren’t,” Ash snaps. “End of discussion.”

“Try to stop me, Asher,” I shoot back.

“Is that a challenge? Because I most certainly can.”

“Well, you’ll regret it,” I say, my lips trembling. Asher lets out an exasperated sigh, but his eyes are worried. “I’m staying here. What do I need to do?”

“For casting this spell you will need to set up a power circle. We only have 6, plus you, that’s 7. Not quite a full coven, but still a powerful number. The three most capable will need to stand closer, forming a triangle around you and Asher in the center.” She points to three spots on the stone floor and three of the women come stand. Now that I have a closer vantage, I can see my cousin Delilah with the three who’ve been chosen.

“And how could I have forgotten, you naturally know your own cousin.” Georgia laughs and puts a hand on her shoulder. Delilah smiles at her and it makes me want to punch her in the face! She turns to me and glares intensely with shrewd olive green eyes. Her upturned lip tells me she’s probably not happy being here either. My mind races as I think of all the crap she’s thrown at me over the years. I can’t believe she’s here.

The last time I saw her she was with her big group of bitchy friends in the library making fun of me. The only thing I’m supposed to be good at and one of my shitty family members has to be here to witness. What if she tells my father? He could ruin this whole operation! Thousands of years of work down the drain. I am just going to have to ignore her and talk to Georgia later. The only problem is that I don’t know what to say.
This girl is not trustworthy. She’s probably working for my father. She’s going to ruin all of this. You should fire her!
Can you fire someone from a coven?

My mind won’t stop racing! Ruby comes over and gives me a quick hug, interrupting my musings of throwing Delilah off this platform. I sigh in relief. Having Ruby amongst the first three gives me some confidence. Thank the stars she’s going to be close. She smiles encouragingly like we are old friends. I hope that we are someday.

The other woman huskily introduces herself. “I’m Cadence,” she says, sticking out an oversized hand to shake. To say she’s taller than me would be an understatement. She’s got to be at least six feet! This woman could crush me with her bare hands! Her face flashes red as I take her in, revealing a much gentler side of her. Her shy smile and firm handshake are oddly comforting. Her large hands engulf my own and hide the fact that they are quivering.

Georgia moves to the remaining women. “The other 3 will stand at the outer edges here, here, and here.” She points at the floor once more. The other women move quickly into their positions.

The spell she gives me is in a strange language. It takes more than a few tries to master. Repeating the phrase over and over in my head helps commit it to memory and boosts my focus. Georgia explains how to seek out and feel my coven’s magic. Each individual will feel different but I should be able to pull from each without much trouble. Once I have locked in on each energy, I will add my own and then release the spell by speaking it aloud.

“Asher, you will need to stand in the middle with Melinda. It will probably help if you have physical contact. It should make it easier for her to pass the power along to you.”

The rest of the council stands off to the side. Watching and waiting. The excitement in the air is palpable.

Ash joins me in the center. He leans in and whispers. “I don’t want you to get hurt. Please Lindy, you don’t have to do this.”

“Oh you’re calling me Lindy again?” I say with vehemence and instantly regretting it. “I’m going to do this Ash. You told me to stand up for myself and that’s what I’m doing.”

“
Fine
,” he snaps, grabbing my hands. “But if this backfires I’m-”

“We’re in place. Let’s begin,” Georgia interrupts.

Finally locking eyes with Ash, I can see that he’s completely pissed. After all these years together I recognize a tinge of fear as well. Why is he so afraid? Does he think this isn’t going to work? Is it because of me? Our hands remain locked and we face each other. I close my eyes, trying to push away the doubt, and reach out with my mind. Starting with the outer circle I find each woman’s individual energy shining like a beacon in the dark. As soon as I touch their power, I feel them feed it to me, willing me to take it in. It’s incredible. Each new addition amplifies the warmth growing in my core.

Moving to the inner circle, I find Ruby’s energy first. It’s bubbly and fizzy and seems to fit with her personality. Moving to Cadence, I find hers to be mellow yet happy. Finally reaching for Delilah, I perceive her to be loud and overwhelming, like static from a TV. It’s not pleasant, but I still pull it in and add it to the others. Lastly, I find my own and complete the orb of power swirling inside me. I feel my body start to get warm and then hot, uncomfortably hot. Sweat breaks out on my forehead and my skin itches all over. I wonder if this is how it’s supposed to feel? What if this isn’t right? There’s no turning back now. I have to try.

Flames lick at my skin and I open my eyes. Like before when I got overwhelmed, the fire crawls up my arms and my heart races impossibly fast. Ash has his eyes closed, but they are darting around under the lids. I wish his eyes were open. I wish he could calm me down like before. A single tear leaks down my face, but before I can pull my hand away to wipe it off it sizzles and evaporates. It’s now or never. I repeat the words in my head once more before saying them aloud.

The flames subside as the energy passes through my hands and into Asher’s. Excited that it’s working, I eagerly feed more of the coven’s combined magic into our connection.

A gasp from behind me breaks my focus and I turn my head. One of the women in the outer circle crumples to the ground. Shit. The remaining outer coven wanes. I feel the inner three concentrate and boost their energy to compensate for our lost member, but I can’t handle it. I’ve lost my focus. Panic sets in and I look at Ash. I know he can feel that something is going wrong. His eyes open just as my vision starts to blur and my head spins. I push back the energy from the others as hard as I can. Flames erupt around us and I can’t fight the wave of exhaustion. My knees buckle and I hit the ground. The world goes black.

The scene changes every time I fade in and out of consciousness. I see Ash’s face hovering over my own, worry etched into his handsome features. He shakes my shoulders and his lips form my name, but I can’t hear his voice. That’s odd. Georgia’s thick warm fingers find my wrist, checking my pulse.

Asher’s back arches and his mouth opens wide. I imagine the guttural roar of the dragon fighting to get free. I know he’s trying not to shift. I can’t let him change into a dragon in here. He will destroy this place! Oh gosh and all the people... I’ve got to do something.

I attempt to lift my arm and touch him. I want desperately to tell him I’m okay, but I can’t figure out how. His whole body is tense, revealing muscle on top of more muscle. God, he’s so hot when he’s angry. I just want his strong arms to hold me. If he would just hold me I would be okay, this would all be okay.

My hearing returns. It’s mostly muffled noise, but there is also an obnoxious ringing noise. Ash appears to be yelling back and forth with someone. I push myself up into an awkward sitting position, swaying with dizziness. I feel sweat trickle down my face and I lift my hand to brush it away. Wiping my hand on my pants leaves a trail of red sticky blood. Oh shit! I try to hastily wipe the rest off and find a small weeping cut on my head. Damn head wounds, they always bleed excessively.

The yelling suddenly stops. I hear Ash take a deep breath through his nose, whirling around and glaring at me wildly with narrowed eyes. Another drop of blood rolls down my face and I watch his eyes trace its path as it drips to the floor. The sight of my blood triggers something in Ash and he starts to shift.

“Wait!” I say feebly, knowing that it’s too late. I still feel a little woozy but I try, unsuccessfully, to stand. Georgia quickly casts a healing spell and I wince as my skin knits back together. 

It takes no time for his body to fully shift into dragon form and before I know it he’s got me wrapped in his talons and I start to slip back into unconsciousness. I fight to stay awake, but my eyelids are so heavy. Glass shatters and I’m enveloped in hot desert air as I fade away into the blackness once more.

Chapter Six

There is something rigid wrapped around my waist. Warmth envelops one half of my body, a stark contrast to the chill on the other and the wind is blowing through my hair. My cheek is pressed against a flat surface as my eyelids flutter open to blinding light.

“Asher?” My voice is hoarse and strained.

His black dragon eyes stare down at me. “Are you alright?” he asks, slowing his flight and sinking lower.

“I think so.” My eyes focus on a distinctly dragon shaped shadow falling on the bustling city street below us. Shit. “How long have I been unconscious?”

“Only for a few minutes,” he replies, hugging my body tighter against his massive chest. “I think. I hope. I don’t actually know for sure.” He sounds panicked.

“Did you shift on purpose back there?” I say. Asher just pumps his wings harder and soars a little higher. “Ash? Did you do that on purpose? Could you control it?”

“No!” he finally growls as I start to ask him again. “I saw you fall, I
felt
you slip away again and I just… I reacted. I had to get you out of there. Away from them.”

“Did you hurt anyone?”

“I don’t think so.”

“We need to go back to the Council and figure out what went wrong.”

“No, we don’t.” His dismissive laugh rumbles through his chest, making my body tremble.

“Asher-”

“Lindy, I said no,” he interrupts me. “Stop being difficult.”

Getting ordered around in real life isn’t nearly as hot as it is in Dreamworld. Despite his obvious and justified anxiety, my cheeks flush in frustration and an unfamiliar defiance threatens to twist the words sitting on my tongue into something nasty. This will really spiral out of control if we both start barking orders at each other.

“Asher…” I say calmly. “It’s broad daylight out here. You can’t just fly around a human city like this.”

“Watch me.”

Oh my God, I’m going to strangle him once his neck is small enough for me to wrap my arms around. “Humans aren’t defenseless Asher. They have technology that rivals the most powerful combat spells and can shoot us out of the sky. Not to mention the panic you could cause. You’re going to give someone a heart attack, there are a lot of old people in-”

“Melinda!” he roars, closing his fist tighter around my waist.

“Stop interrupting me,” I insist.

“Stop arguing with me.”

We both let out an exasperated breath, but hold our tongues. “So where are you taking me then?”

A box truck’s horn blares beneath us as it slams into a suddenly stopped car, making Asher jerk and grab me harder. I’m going to pop if he keeps doing that. “I’m taking you somewhere that makes sense to me,” he answers quietly, his attention fixed on the arguing drivers that are somehow oblivious to our presence.

“This place wouldn’t happen to be in the middle of a desert, would it?”

“Maybe.
Hopefully
. Everything used to be in the middle of the desert because that’s all there was.”

I should really cut him some slack. He has to be so overwhelmed. Visiting the Council right away was a mistake, I should have let him get his bearing first. “Ash, I’m thirsty. I need water. Maybe some food. Please just land.”

Asher inhales raggedly. “That’s all you had to say, Lindy.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” My head spins as I search for a decent place to land. There are people everywhere. “See that white building over there, surrounded by those black patches with the white lines?” I say, describing an outdoor mall and parking lots. Ash grumbles affirmatively. “That place has everything we need. Can you land on the roof without drawing too much attention?”

Asher doesn’t answer me, but changes course, staying high until we’re right over the mall and dropping suddenly with his wings folded against his sides. He sits me down gently on the roof, taking a few steps backwards so that the flames of his transformation aren’t too close.

He practically runs out of the fiery vortex in his human form, barrelling toward me with an expression so desperate and terrified it shocks me. I guess his emotions aren’t as easy to read when he’s a dragon. His arms surround me, pulling me into his chest as his shaking hand cups the back of my head.

“I’m okay,” I whisper into his ear, my fingers skimming lightly through his hair. “Really, I am.”

“You hit your head when you fell,” he says, pulling his face away from my shoulder and pressing his lips to my hairline.

“No, I didn’t,” I lie.

“Yes, you did!” he snaps back, his fingernails digging into my arm as I pull away. “I saw it. Surely, gravity works the same way now as it did back then, and I’d imagine that hard floors have the same ability to break bones and crack skulls and-”

“Ash!” I interrupt him, finally giving into his unrelenting embrace and hugging him back just as hard. He groans pitifully, sinking his head into the crook of my shoulder and shuddering. Some of the tension leaves his shoulders after a few moments. “I’m sorry that I scared you,” I murmur. “You were right, I shouldn’t have tried that.”

“Lindy, I didn’t mean that… I shouldn’t have voiced my concerns so hastily and insulted you, that’s not what I intended.”

“Well, your concerns were spot on. I totally failed.”

“That
Council
has no idea what they’re talking about. They played on your fears, pushed you into trying something that you weren’t ready for, hadn’t prepared for. Maybe if you had time to practice, or do some research-”

“That’s the thing, Asher. I don’t have time.
You
don’t have time. The Renewal Celebration is in less than a week and if I don’t fix this, we’ll both end up in prison, but it won’t be the same one this time and we’ll never see each other again and I’ll… I spent the whole time thinking you were a dream and now you’re here and I don’t want to lose you if I can stop it and-”

“Calm down, little witch,” he says, brushing my hair away from my face and running his fingers across my cheek.

“But-”

Asher interrupts me again, but with a kiss instead of words. My jaw is shaking as I part my lips to let more of him inside, melting into his arms as the heat of his mouth fills mine. “I’m not going anywhere,” he assures me.

“But the curse, the celebration…”

“I am not concerned about that and you shouldn’t be either. I don’t need a Council of heretics and traitors to stop this, and I certainly don’t need you to… uh,” he stammers, clearly trying to find the right words to avoid offending me. “I don’t want you to risk your safety for me. If you want to explore your newfound magic on your own, that’s fine.”

My eyes narrow at him as I bite my tongue. I certainly don’t need his permission to do anything, let alone that. Asher breathes out an exasperated laugh, running his hand through his hair. “I meant to say that’s wonderful,” he clarifies. “I know how much that means to you. But it’s for you.
You
. They are not using you. I will fly you to the other side of this planet and you can kick and scream the whole way, but we are
done
with that Council.”

“Asher, I know you’re the King but-”

“The King of
what
?” he snaps. “A bigger cave? Gnomes? Cats? What if I don’t want that?” Wow. That possibility had not occurred to me. “Because I don’t think I want that. I was a kid when my father died and I didn’t want to ascend to the throne then, but that was my duty and the people,
my
people needed me. But now… you have no idea what it used to be like, Lindy.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Well, we certainly weren’t hiding in the ground like worms, cowering from human eyes because they’re apparently more powerful than we are.”

“They aren’t exactly more powerful.” My mind flashes on The History Channel. “Okay, well maybe in the last fifty years or so things have evened out a bit, what with magic diminished, especially Uptop. But we don’t keep the Underground a secret because of fear, we… I don’t even know why Asher. That’s just the way it’s always been for me.”

“It certainly hasn’t always been that way for me,” he says, breaking away from our embrace and staring out at the city. “Nothing is the same. This place is unrecognizable. I may as well be on another planet. It’s a completely different world and from what I’ve seen, there’s no place for me in it.”

“Yes, there is,” I blurt out, scampering over to where he’s standing on the edge of the rooftop and taking his hand. Asher leans into me, but won’t look my direction. “There’s a place for you right here, next to me.”

I wrap my arms snugly around his waist and he rests his head on mine, nodding. “Yes,” he croaks. “Next to you, the only person in this world that matters. At least to me.”

“You might like it here, Ash, after a while. I like it here.”

“Are you talking about the Underground?”

“No, not really. I like humans.”

“I did too.”

“Then maybe you’ll like their world. It’s amazing what people come up with when they can’t rely on magic. There’s so much to do here.”

“Like what?”

“Geez, Ash, I don’t even know where to start.” He’s never seen a movie. Or been on a rollercoaster, though the experience probably pales compared to flying. “Pizza,” I say.

“Peet-Zah,” he mimics me, his face filled with confusion.

“Yeah. It’s food. Human food is incredible, let’s start there.”

“I can hunt for you.”

“I don’t eat rabbit and I certainly don’t skin it and pull its guts out or whatever you do,” I laugh without thinking. 

Asher’s eyes fall to the ground as his head hangs low. “I can’t even feed you properly. Or get you the water you need. Water is still the clear liquid that sustains all life, correct? It falls out of the sky occasionally and flow in rivers?”

“Yes, Ash. Water is still water. And you can get some for me, but you need to put on pants first.”

“Pants,” he huffs, shaking his head as we watch the mall patrons flowing in and out of the stores below us. “Again with the pants. Obviously nudity isn’t as acceptable now.”

“No, it’s really not, though it’s slightly more acceptable for people as gorgeous as you are.”

“That doesn’t seem fair at all,” he says, cocking his head to the side. “Why would that make a difference?”

“Well, I guess it doesn’t to the cops, and their opinion matters more than anyone else’s.”

“Why? What are ‘the cops’?”

“Human authority figures. They arrest naked people,” I explain.

“What an absurd thing to worry about. Don’t they have anything better to do?”

“They
will
arrest you if you’re naked, but that’s not all they do. They’re who you call for help if you’re being robbed, get hurt, stuff like that.”

“Oh,” he whispers.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Ash lies. I keep staring at him, putting my hands on my hips so he knows I won’t let it go. “Humans used to call us for help. We always did.”

“Oh.” Wow. Things really have changed. I’m the only Magicfolk I know of that even likes humans, and it never occurred to me to help them, not that I really could. “Asher, I know this has to be so hard for you.”

“I’m fine,” he replies stoically.

I’m not going to call him out on it. Instead I take a deep breath because he is not going to like this. “Asher, you see that store over there?”

“The one with the decapitated corpses wearing pants in the window?”

“Um… yeah. And those aren’t actual human corpses, they’re mannequins.”

“Yet another word I do not understand. I can only imagine how I’d sound if I hadn’t spent the last few years speaking with you.”

He was difficult to understand when we first met and I had to teach him a lot of new words. “They’re dolls made out of plastic to display outfits so people have some idea what they look like when they’re on.”

“Right. That makes more sense.”

“I’m going down to that store to buy you something to wear,” I say, wincing.

Asher doesn’t respond right away, his brow furrowing in confusion. That expression quickly fades away, replaced by widened eyes and a clenched jaw as he fully understands what I’m saying. “Absolutely not, Lindy,” he replies sternly