Chapter Sixteen

With one arm wrapped around his mother to protect her, Luther smashed through the door at the bottom of the stairs with the other. Caine was locking all of them as he went to slow them down. It wasn’t hard for Luther to get through them, but it was taking valuable seconds, time he didn’t have.

Caine was desperate. And desperate men didn’t care who they killed.

His mother was breathing heavily, but she kept silent. He knew she was as worried as he was. Like his father, she’d spent twenty years locked away. His heart ached for both his parents. They were so close to getting free, but they weren’t there yet.

An insistent voice in his head urged him to hurry before it was too late.

He hadn’t been around when they’d been taken. His parents had been on a road trip, traveling the country, spending weeks, sometimes months in an area to explore. They’d been in upstate New York when they’d gone missing. He’d gone looking for them when they’d missed their daily call to him. He’d spent twenty years without them.

Today, if he was too late, the consequences could be even more dire.

Gunshots echoed down the hallway. Luther stopped breathing. Then he heard a familiar roar, one he hadn’t heard in so very long. Luther came to an abrupt halt and set his mother down beside him. There was a doorway nearby. He shoved it open and checked before all but pushing his mother inside.

“Stay there and barricade the door until I come for you,” he told her.

She was already grabbing a chair when he shifted. The corridor was narrow, but he was deadlier in his dragon form.

He didn’t try to hide. He barreled around the corner at full speed and shifted. Caine and a dozen of his men were shooting at his father. Luther didn’t see Victoria or Oscar.

Just then, she poked her head around his father.

“Get back,” he roared. Caine whirled around, and his eyes went wide.

“There’s another one!” Caine yelled. Several of the men broke and ran, heading toward a staircase. Caine raised the gun in his hand and shot them in the back. “Cowards. Hold your position,” he ordered the remaining men.

Victoria ducked back behind his father, leaving no one but their enemies between the two drakons.

“Hurry,” Caine yelled into his cell phone. Luther knew he was calling reinforcements. Most likely, those men would have whatever drug they’d used to keep his father captive all these years. Luther couldn’t allow them time to get here.

He caught his father’s eyes, and Sergei spread his wings as far as they would go, creating an impenetrable barrier. Luther inhaled and felt the familiar fire stir inside him. Drakon fire couldn’t kill another drakon, but it would annihilate anything else in its path.

He exhaled and became a living, breathing flame thrower, making sure to target carefully. Even with his father protecting Victoria, he didn’t want to chance opening up a full blaze. He could easily survive, but Victoria and his mother wouldn’t. Neither would Oscar.

The men closest to him caught fire. The blaze quickly consumed clothing, skin, and bone until nothing remained, not even ash.

Caine swore and yanked one of his men in front of him. Using him as a human shield, Caine raced for the exit. Luther inhaled again and managed to catch several more of the men, but Caine slipped into a stairwell and disappeared from sight. The remaining guards raced after him, not willing to stay and give their lives for their boss.

Father and son stared at one another across the charred expanse. It had been so very long. Luther took a deep breath and blew out a cooling wind, snuffing the few flames licking at the walls. Then Luther shifted back to his human form. Naked, he slowly walked toward his father, who lowered his head.

“Son?” He sounded confused, almost as if he wasn’t sure who Luther was.

Before Luther could touch his beloved face, he heard a sound behind him. He knew who it was without looking and moved to the side. His mother raced down the hallway toward his father and threw herself at him.

“Sergei,” she cried. The huge dragon lowered his head, as docile as an overgrown pet.

A huge lump grew in Luther’s throat. It got bigger when his mother reached out and pulled him into the group hug.

He caught movement in his peripheral vision. Victoria and Oscar. They’d done it. They’d freed his father and mother.

“I don’t mean to break this up,” Oscar told them. “But we need to get out of here before Caine either comes back with reinforcements or blows this place.”

Oscar was right. “Can you shift?” Luther asked his father.

Sergei closed his eyes and concentrated for several seconds, then shook his head. Whatever drugs they’d given him hadn’t left his system yet.

“Okay, we’ll have to work with that.” Luther headed toward the nearest exit, very aware of Victoria watching him. She’d seen him in his dragon form, seen him kill men. Would she fear him now? He couldn’t allow himself to get distracted by such thoughts. Right now, he had a job to do.

“You’ll have to bring up the rear,” he told his father. “Break down any walls or door you need to in order to get out.”

Sergei nodded. So did his mother. Oscar slid by him to take point. Victoria was still staring at him. He went to her to try to calm her fears. He hated she would no longer see him as just a man.

As soon as he got close enough, she waved him closer. Surprised, he lowered his head. “You’re naked,” she whispered.

His father gave a chuff that was more a laugh. That was why she was giving him such odd looks. Not because she was afraid of him after what she’d just seen him do, but because he wasn’t wearing any clothes. The weight on his heart lifted slightly, but not all the way. They were all still in grave danger.

“I can’t do anything about that now,” he told her. “Stay close.” She nodded and fell into step behind him. His mother was behind her and his father came last.

Oscar was already at the top of the staircase. “I don’t like this. It’s too quiet.”

Oscar was right. Where were Caine and his men? Luther cocked his head to one side and listened intently. It was faint, but his preternatural hearing allowed him to hear the faint sound of rotary blades.

“I hear a helicopter. Caine is escaping.” Luther surged up the stairs. “Hurry.” He knew he’d be too late, but he had to try. He couldn’t allow Caine to escape justice. If he was left alive, Luther knew he’d come looking for them and wouldn’t stop until he found them. His family, his woman, would always be in danger while Caine was still out there.

Plaster and wood cracked as his father shoved his large dragon body through the small opening. Sergei raised his head, sniffed, and then roared.

Luther sniffed, but there were too many smells for him to scent whatever was bothering his father. He listened intently again.

“Bomb,” his father managed to get out. Oscar had been right. Caine was going to blow the complex with them in it. He probably figured the drakons would survive. He wouldn’t care if the women and Oscar died in the explosion.

“Move,” Luther roared. He grabbed Victoria by the hand and raced up the stairs with Oscar and his parents close behind them. Luther knew his father would protect his mother with his life.

They made it almost to the top floor when time ran out. He felt the rumble from below. They only had seconds before the explosion reached them.

Luther pulled Victoria to him, snagged Oscar with his free arm, and shifted. His dragon took over, covering his body in thick scales. He threw his wings around Victoria and Oscar, creating a protective pocket. At the last second, he exhaled and created a bubble of air around them.

Concrete and metal exploded, smashing into his body. He ducked his head and prayed as fire washed over him. He held tightly to his woman and his friend. Because that’s what Oscar was. He’d risked his life to save what was precious to Luther. That was something he could never repay.

Heavy chunks of what used to be the building hit him. He jerked when the main floor of the building came crashing down on top of him. Victoria screamed. Luther held himself strong. If he collapsed, he’d be okay, but he’d crush Victoria. If that happened, he might as well be dead.

He felt her soft hand stroke the inside of his wing, silently letting him know she was okay and that she trusted him. It reinforced his determination. He would save her. There was no other choice. Luther stayed steady for what seemed like hours but was probably only a few minutes. Then everything went quiet.

They were buried under tons of rubble with only a limited amount of air.

…

It took Victoria several seconds to realize the explosion was over and silence now ruled.

“Are you okay?” Oscar asked her.

She nodded. “Yes. You?”

“I’m good.” Oscar shifted position slightly. “You okay, Luther?”

There was no answer.

“Luther?” she called, her tone slightly frantic. She rubbed the inside of his wing. It was warmer than she’d expected, but that meant he was alive. Didn’t it? “Luther?” she called again when he still didn’t reply.

“I’m alive,” came the muffled reply. “But I have no idea how much debris is on top of me.”

Shit, we’re in big trouble. “What can we do?” she asked him.

“I’m not sure. Sit tight and stay close. I’m going to move around a bit and see what happens.”

Oscar nudged her closer in the confined space. He wrapped his arms around her and protected her with his own body. “I’ve got her,” he told Luther.

“Mom? Dad? You okay?”

Victoria heard a faint reply. She prayed they were both safe.

Then Luther began to move. Huge muscles shifted. Dust and debris rained down, some of it filtering through. Victoria dragged her arm against her mouth and nose to keep the dust out so she didn’t choke.

Luther rumbled and then stopped. “I’m not sure there’s a safe way to do this.”

That wasn’t reassuring, but what was the alternative? They couldn’t stay buried forever. “If we don’t do something, we’ll die.” It was as simple as that. She, his mother, and Oscar were human.

“And Caine may come back,” she reminded him. That was always a concern. “Maybe he’s hoping we’ll be trapped long enough for him to figure out a way to recapture Sergei and take you.” She and Oscar would be killed outright. They were of no value to Caine.

Luther moved his position slightly. More debris shifted. She gave a small cry as dust filled the space, coating her clothes, hair, and face. Oscar pushed her head against his chest and covered it with his arms.

“I’m going to take both of you in my hands. Once I have a grip on you, I’m going to make a quick break for it.”

That sounded dangerous, but there really was no other choice. She coughed. The air bubble that had surrounded them was becoming contaminated with smoke and dust.

“What about your parents?” It was strange to think of her friend and his wife as his parents. She envied him. At least he still had parents. And it was obvious from the brief glimpse she’d gotten that they loved him.

Luther’s love for them was undoubtable. After all, he’d spent two decades searching for them, had infiltrated a group that would have loved to capture and torture him if they had only known what he was.

“They’re going to do the same thing.”

Oscar released her, and Luther shifted his position slightly. Debris fell in around their feet. He reached for her and wrapped huge claws around her, holding her snugly. They could cut her in half if he squeezed too hard. Her breathing was getting fast and shallow. She forced herself to relax. This was it. They either escaped or they died trying. Across from her, Oscar was totally silent and focused on what was about to happen.

“Do it,” she said.

Luther surged upward in a massive display of raw strength and power. Steel girders and thick layers of concrete groaned and creaked. The huge pile of rubble that would normally take days and a huge array of men and machinery to move was pushed aside by his large body.

She sensed Luther straining and gripped one of his deadly claws and hung on. If she was going to die, at least she’d do so completing the task she’d dedicated her entire life to. Sergei and Katherine would live. She was sure of it. If something happened to Katherine, Sergei would give her his blood, and she’d heal like she had in Victoria’s vision. Maybe if she was injured, Luther would do the same for her.

Luther gave a mighty roar, and the sound vibrated all the way to her bones. His big body bent beneath the strain. His grip increased to the point of pain. She cried out just as he shoved upward.

Cold air slapped her face. Mighty wings flapped as they rose into the air. Stars sparkled in the dark sky. It wasn’t late, but dusk had settled in.

Luther took them a distance away from the building before landing and releasing her and Oscar. Her legs gave out, and she crumpled to the ground. Her feet were bare, her jacket was ripped, and her pants torn.

Luther was beside her, shifted back to his human form so quickly she’d missed the transition. “Are you okay?” He put his hands on her shoulders and lightly shook her.

She was battered and bruised, but she was alive. She nodded, unable to speak past the lump in her throat.

He dragged her against his naked body and slammed his lips down on hers. She speared her fingers through his short hair and clung to him, tasting life as he kissed her. He was warm, and she was so cold. They’d come close to losing each other. She could have died, and he could have been captured.

Victoria became aware of someone watching them. She cracked one eye open and then slammed it shut. A huge dragon was staring at them. That wasn’t the problem. The fact that it was Luther’s father standing there, and Luther’s mother was right alongside Sergei, well, that was a problem.

Heat crept up her cheeks, and she shoved at Luther. He resisted but finally relented. “What’s wrong?” he demanded.

“Your parents,” she whispered. Not that it mattered when they were so close they could hear everything she was saying.

Luther brushed her hair from her face and smiled before rising to face his parents. He was still naked, something Victoria was very aware of.

“Mom, are you injured?”

Katherine shook her head. “Your father protected me.” Sergei puffed out his chest, making his wife laugh. Victoria couldn’t help but smile. The love between the two of them was palpable, not dimmed by two decades of captivity. She could only marvel at that kind of love. She also felt a twinge of envy.

“Can you shift yet?” Luther asked his father.

The big dragon swiveled his head back to the collapsed building. “We need to destroy this before I try.”

The deep voice was so familiar from her childhood it made Victoria’s heart hurt.

Luther cupped her face in his hand. “I have to take care of this before we go.”

Victoria cleared her throat and nodded. “Do whatever you need to do.” The faster they could get away from here, the better off they’d be.

“Do you have your phone?” Luther asked Oscar.

“No. I lost it in the explosion. It needs to be destroyed.” She knew he was worried about his friends, the people who’d helped them. They could leave nothing behind for Caine to find.

Luther strode toward the wreckage. He was barefoot and naked but walked straight and surefooted, not even seeming to notice the cold ground or feel the heavy bite of the wind. She did and wrapped her arms around herself and shifted from one stocking-clad foot to the other as the chill radiated through her.

“Thank you, my dear.” Katherine was standing alongside her. “Thank you for giving my family and my life back.”

Her heart stuttered. What was she supposed to say to Luther’s mom?

“Um, you’re welcome.” She wanted to slap her hand against her forehead. That’s the best you can come up with? She was usually so competent, but this was totally beyond her experience.

Luther began to shift form once again. This time, there was nothing stopping her from watching it happen. Victoria’s breath caught in her throat. His body changed shape, and his giant wings emerged. He was huge and gorgeous, his silvery blue scales reflecting in the moonlight. His tail was as long as his body. In a word, he was spectacular.

Beside her, Katherine laughed. “They are something, aren’t they?”

Remember this is his mother. She forced herself to look away long enough to introduce herself. “They are.” The similarity between father and son was uncanny. “I’m Victoria. Victoria Marshall.”

Katherine’s eyes widened. “You’re little Victoria.”

“Little Victoria?”

Katherine smiled and nodded. “That’s what Sergei called you. He told me about you, about meeting you wandering around in the woods. He was worried about you.”

That warmed her all the way to her soul, driving out some of the biting cold.

“How did you come to be here?”

Victoria shrugged. “When Sergei went missing, I knew something had happened to him.”

“You’ve been looking for him?”

“My entire life.” And now her quest was done. A blank hole appeared where her future should be. What do I do next? There was no doubt in her mind that the Knights of the Dragon would look for her. Unless of course, they believed she died in the explosion. She’d have to change her name, maybe even leave the country.

“Look.” Katherine’s quietly spoken request brought Victoria back to the present. They weren’t done yet.

Father and son stood beside the crumbled remains of the building. They’d spread out so they were both facing an end. Then they inhaled. It was so deep and long, it seemed to suck the very air from the space around them. The entire night went silent, as though holding its breath.

Then both dragons exhaled. Violet-blue flames tinged with orange emerged from their mouths. Victoria was hit with a backwash of heat that soon had her sweating. The ground heated beneath her feet. She took several steps back, tugging Katherine with her.

Metal and concrete melted beneath the onslaught.

Oscar joined them and held out blankets to each of them. She had no idea where he’d found them. “Guess you don’t need these any longer with all that heat.” He stood next to them and watched the amazing scene before them. “By the way, I’m Oscar Denning, ma’am,” he said to Katherine. “Glad you’re safe.”

“You don’t seem overly surprised by what you’re seeing, Mr. Denning.”

“Call me Oscar. And, no, I’ve seen a drakon at work before.”

Victoria tuned out their conversation and watched Luther and his father take breath after breath, the fire a continuous blaze until nothing remained but an empty crater. She noticed Sergei’s fire wasn’t as powerful as Luther’s was. She imagined the drugs were still affecting him.

Finally, everything was gone—metal, concrete, machinery, wood. There wasn’t even any ash.

It was an awesome display of power.

When Caine returned, there would be nothing for him to find or salvage.

Both dragons ceased spewing fire at the same time. Luther shifted and started walking toward her but stopped in his tracks when the air began to shimmer around Sergei.

Victoria wasn’t sure he’d be able to shift, not after years of being drugged, of being forced into his dragon form. His body flickered in and out, caught halfway between man and beast. She held her breath and silently encouraged him. Beside her, Katherine inhaled sharply. Victoria couldn’t begin to imagine what she was experiencing at this moment. She hadn’t seen her husband’s human side in so many years.

Sergei’s human form held, but his knees buckled, and he started to fall. Luther was there to catch him before he hit the ground.

Father and son were so similar it made her heart ache. If she’d ever seen Sergei in his human form, she would have known in an instant that he and Luther had to be related. But he’d always come to her in his dragon form and had also appeared that way in her visions.

Sergei straightened and nodded his thanks. Then both men continued toward them—tall and strong and powerful. Katherine ran to her Sergei, who wrapped her in his massive arms. He lowered his head and kissed her.

Victoria looked away. The moment was too powerful and much too personal to intrude on. Plus, Sergei was naked. Not something she needed to see. Luther stood beside her, watching his parents. The look of wonder and awe on his face made her proud of what they’d done. She nudged him with her elbow and held out her blanket. “It’s not pants, but it will have to do.”

Luther chuckled and wrapped his arm around her. “Let’s go home.”

But Victoria had no home. None of them did. And they had the most dangerous group in the world searching for them.