Bianca sat and waited while Byron went up and down shelving units, muttering to himself as he looked for the book. Apparently, it wasn’t under “D” for Dragon Slayers. She rotated her wrists, but there was no way to get out of the cuffs. She wished he didn’t trap her in the magical circle, but she could see his reasons.
The vision in the mirror haunted her. She remembered that day. She could taste that juicy apple. She could feel Byron inside her. What was wrong with her? Bianca didn't believe in reincarnation. People always thought they were famous people in past lives. No one was Madge the scullery maid. So not only did she believe she had been a Queen, she believed she was Mary Shelley. Bianca shook her head. It didn't ring true, but the only other explanation was it was Byron's dragon magic seducing her.
"Byron?" she called, hearing her voice echo back to her in the library's vastness.
"Yes, my love?"
"I'm frightened," she said.
"Has someone been telling you frightening stories of a monster seeking to destroy its creator?"
His arms encircled her from behind. She immediately felt comforted and a bit silly.
"This dread," she said. "I feel it stalking me, like a spectre."
"I am your protector, now that Percy is dead."
"It pains me we never found his murderer," she said.
"He got careless. Had you been with him, you might have been taken by the rogue studs."
"It makes no sense," she said, turning in his arms and clasping his face. "No one would hurt us. The humans love us too well."
"I do not know the rogue stud mind."
"I would have welcomed a few in my court," she said. "They didn't have to kill Percy."
Bryon tossed her over his shoulder. "Tiring of me in your bed already?"
She shrieked in laughter. "No my beloved, but we all have our duty. Come, do yours."
He tossed her on the bed.
"You called, my dear," Bryon approached the circle.
Bianca shook her head. The vision still in her mind. "What happened to Percy?"
"He was murdered. A pack of Queenless studs ambushed him and challenged him for his position as consort to Queen Mary. He lost. He managed to take a few of them out before he died. But at least one escaped."
"Where were you?" she asked.
"With the Queen. At the time I was her Protector."
"You were also her lover."
"I had that privilege. Why do you ask?"
"Does it hurt to talk about her?"
Byron looked away. "It used to. However, I find myself enjoying talking with you."
"I feel that we've known each other forever," Bianca said.
"That's the pheromones talking," Bryon checked the spell with a few incantations. "I should hurry and get that book."
How was she going to read the book if her arms were restrained?
The ceiling shook as a large WHOOMP sounded. Footsteps thundered above her and men’s voices echoed down.
“What the hell is going on?” she screeched.
Byron strode out from the stacks and skin flaked away. His form shimmered and expanded. The winged serpent emerged, vibrant purple with strong bat like wings that rattled the bookshelves. Coil after coil wrapped around her circle as he flew up towards the trap door. A beep sounded and then an explosion rained debris down the stairs. Byron flinched back and then drove his head into the stairs, crushing them to splinters. Two men fell to their deaths. They’re bodies exploded on impact and Bianca vomited at the sight. Two others rappelled down on ropes, as she was trying to get her heaving under control. She pulled on the pillar, but there was no way she could move it.
Byron snapped at the ropes and whipped his head. The two men went flying just as they were about to jump off the rope. They crashed into a bookshelf and then a pillar, before lying still.
“Are you all right?” he asked, turning to her. His serpentine head filled her vision. His eyes were the same, though larger. She could see his concern. She tried to nod.
“Byron, surrender or die,” a voice boomed down from the top of the store.
“Who dares,” he hissed.
“The Order of the Dragon Slayers. You have been accused of crimes against humanity.”
“That is ridiculous.”
“Says the dragon with the human chained in his lair.”
“I can explain,” Bianca shouted. “I’m here willingly.” Of course, her argument might have held more weight if she hadn’t been restrained. “We’re doing a Fifty Shades thing,” she tried anyway.
“We’ve come to save you. Now, are you going to come in peace for your trial, Byron, or do we burn this place down?”
Byron thought about it, but he eased back to the basement floor and turned back into human. “You’ll have to come and get us. Your brutal attack on my establishment has taken out the stairs.”
“We’re coming down. If you kill any more of us, we will torch every book one by one while you watch.”
“I understand. There is no need to threaten me. Be aware that I will be seeking retribution from your order for the damage and inconvenience you have caused me.”
“You killed four men. You can shove your inconvenience up your scaly ass.”
“You stormed my lair. You are in violation of the Treaty of 1099. I was defending my turf and will be exonerated. There are ways to go about things and you have not realized what you have done.”
“Don’t quote treaties to me. You have taken a virgin sacrifice.”
“I am not a virgin!” Bianca screamed. And then in the uncomfortable silence said in a slightly lower tone of voice. “Not that it’s any of your business. And I do not need to be rescued.”
“Ma’am, we have a report that you are dragon-struck. You’re not going to be allowed to testify for or against him because of that.”
Byron looked lost in thought, but then turned in a dash and strode back into his stacks.
“Who the hell reported that?” Bianca snapped.
“We’re coming down now.” The man said, instead of answering.
By the time the three men got their ropes secured and were rappelling down, Byron came back holding a leather diary. He tossed it in the circle and then sat on his Queen Anne’s chair to wait. The three men started towards him once their feet were on the ground. They were dressed like commandoes with armored clothing and Batman utility belts.
“Take the woman first. It’s who you came for.” He held up a hand and gestured. They freed her from her handcuffs with a key. The first thing she did was dive for the book. She met Byron’s eyes as they walked her towards the ropes. The dragon lust nearly took her knees out from under her, and they steadied her so she stood upright.
“Are you okay, Miss?”
Bianca nodded. There were no words, only burning desire and tongues of regret. The desire she recognized, but she didn’t understand the regret. He gave her the book. She got what she wanted. Why did she feel cheated that she didn’t have more time with him? His eyes were on her and she couldn’t look away.
“He’s innocent,” she said, as they helped her into a secured jacket that would allow them to hoist her up to the main floor.
“I’m sorry Ma’am. He needs to go on trial. Only a Queen could stop his arrest.”
Byron shook his head.
“I came here at Niall’s request. He told me to come here.” Bianca tried to reason with them.
“Did he tell Byron, here, to cuff you to a pole?”
“It’s all right, Bianca,” Byron said.
Her name on his lips undid her. Tears flowed out of her eyes. She wanted to be his mate, even if that was only the dragon-struck part of her talking. These men had no business making that choice for her.
“I wasn't in any danger,” she said, quietly.
“And how would you know that?” the commando said sarcastically, and checked the buckles by lifting the jacket up. When they held, he gave the thumbs up and she was pulled upwards.
“Because you’d have been too late, if he wanted to hurt me.”
She was on the main floor in moments. Two other men unbuckled the vest and helped her into her coat. She shivered inside it and took long breaths. Slipping the diary inside her coat pocket, she tried again to make them see that she didn’t need rescuing.
“There is a scroll here that will tell you that Niall sent me. There must be some kind of mistake. Byron is helping me with a problem I’m having.”
“Come with us, ma’am.”
Bianca’s head unfogged by the time she was escorted into a blue SUV. A crowd had gathered from among the Christmas shoppers. A police line had been set up and there were a few people taking pictures from their camera phones. She ducked into the cowl of her coat and slid into the SUV. The sticky ache between her legs was bitter and she chafed against her dress. Byron should have taken her when he ripped her thong off. These bozos wouldn’t have dared try to separate a dragon from his mate.
“Am I under arrest?” she snapped. The pounding in her head was deafening. She closed her eyes to the pain and gritty frustration that passed over her.
“No ma’am, but we’re taking you to our headquarters for safekeeping. At least until the dragon is in protective custody.”
“What if I don’t want to go?”
“We have our orders to take you in. Joachim, he’s our commanding officer, would like to speak to you.”
“Well, I don’t want to speak to him. So either you just let me off at the corner and I’ll find my own way home or I will start kicking and screaming and making your lives a general hell.”
“I don’t want to restrain you ma’am.”
“This is kidnapping. You’re no better than what you’re accusing Byron of.”
They didn’t answer her.
“Can Joachim read Latin?
“You’ll have to ask him.”
Bianca tried a few more times to get specifics but she was rebuffed, politely, but stonewalled all the same. Short of jumping out of a moving vehicle and probably getting tasered in the process, there was nothing she could do but sit back and wait. It was about an hour when they hit the Massachusetts border and headed into downtown Springfield. They drove to an office compound that looked like it had been an insurance headquarters in another life. She was helped out of the SUV and escorted inside. When she looked up, she saw men with assault cannons on the roof and razor wire on the fencing.
Taking a deep breath in the lobby, she was relieved not to smell any dragons. It would have been unbearable to lose control again so soon. The elevator ride made her ears pop and the doors let out to a large penthouse suite. Fatigue crested over her and she longed to sag against the wall. But she was damned if she’d show these bozos any weakness.
“Joachim is in the receiving area. Have a good afternoon, Ma’am.”
Bianca stumbled out of the elevator and stared at the guards until the elevator doors closed on them. She didn’t even know what the heck a receiving area was, but she looked into the first room on the right and saw a large Hispanic man staring out into the sky.
“Looking for dragons?” Bianca said.
“Siempre,” he said, turning to look at her. He was scarred and tough looking. “I am Joachim. Commander of The Order of Dragon Slayers. I am at your service and offer my protection.” Unlike his commandoes, he was dressed casually.
“What do I need protection from? I was doing just fine until someone blew a hole in the bookstore I was in.”
“I’m sorry for your inconvenience.” He looked like someone her mother would have been thrilled if she brought him home for Sunday dinner. Mama liked them a little on the thug side.
His eyes grew unfocused as he glanced at her up and down. Then he blinked and rubbed his temples, letting out a large sigh.
“Inconvenience? Four men were killed,” she cried. “It was awful. What on earth would be worth those men’s deaths?”
“You, Bianca. You are a Queen. We had to rescue you and bring you back here. Once you emerged, it would have been war on the streets of Connecticut over you.”
Well, that shut her up. She had spent the entire ride over here coming up with scathing threats and logical arguments and if that hadn’t worked, she was going to beg.
“Byron said I wasn’t.”
“Bryon doesn’t know everything.”
“And you do?”
“You’re not the first Queen I’ve seen who was about to shift. Can I get you a drink?”
“You sure as hell can,” she said and walked into the suite area. She moved towards the window to scan the sky.
“Please,” Joachim said, coming up behind her. “Stay away from the glass.”
“Are you expecting an attack?”
“Siempre,” he said again, and handed her a glass of water. “I have something stronger, if you would like? Wine, rum? I’ll order us up some dinner. We have a lot to discuss.” He handed her a menu.
She slapped it back at him. “How are you sure I’m a Queen?”
“You have a blue aura. All Queens do. It’s a connection to the dragon weave.”
“Niall said my aura was odd. He didn’t say anything else. Look, Niall sent me to Byron. Byron is innocent.”
A muscle worked in Joachim’s jaw. “He held you there against your will.”
“No, he didn’t.”
“You were handcuffed to a pillar inside a magical circle.”
“And you couldn’t possibly know that until you blew open the trap door. What would you have done if he had made me his mate?”
“We needed to get you out of there before he did.”
"What's going to happen to him?"
Joachim reached into his pocket. "I must ask you a question. In Byron's lair did you see another Queen? A Chinese woman. Her name is Mei Hua." Joachim handed her a picture of a lovely, young woman with black pigtails and a seductive gleam in her eye.
"No, there was just me."
Joachim took with picture back with another labored sigh. "It was too much to hope." He slipped the picture back into his pocket.
"Did you think Bryon had her?"
"I hoped."
"I don't understand. Who is she?"
"She is the sixth dragon Queen."
Bianca shook her head. "That's impossible."
"Three years ago, she stood before me as you do now. So close to shifting, but still unable because of the curse."
"What curse?"
"The same one that has stopped you from shifting into a dragon at puberty."
"That was a long time ago," Bianca gave a self conscious laugh.
"Even longer, a group who calls themselves The Cult of Humanity captured a baby Queen and sacrificed her to fuel their spell that blocked Queens from hatching or shifting. The Order has been very protective of Queens since then."
"So I am Mary reincarnated." Bianca marveled. She was Byron's mate.
"Mary who?" Joachim asked, with a raised eyebrow.
"Never mind. It's complicated. Are you sure I'm a Queen?"
"I am. Have you noticed anything odd happening to you recently? For example Mei Hua manifested claws in time of stress."
"Odd? Yeah I'd say that. It's like I'm dragon catnip. Studs follow me around sniffing and Byron and I…connected."
Joachim nodded. "I'm glad we were able to find you so quickly. It's very rare we find a Queen in time to save her."
Bianca took a sip of water. This was bizarre. "Well, now that you know Byron wasn't holding me or Mei Hua against our wills, are you going to let him go?"
"After you've made your decision and we've seen this through, I will release him unharmed— providing he doesn't kill any more of my men."
"What exactly are we seeing through?" Bianca asked.
“Do you want to be a dragon Queen?”
“I’ve never thought of it. But it doesn’t matter. You just said I was one.”
“The dragon race is cursed. As I said, they pissed off a very powerful cult that inflicted a holding pattern into the yin weave of dragon magic. As the female dragons died, no new ones replaced them. That is why there are only five left. But in the past decade, the Order has seen women with auras like yours. We search the globe for them."
"Well, you found me," Bianca said. "Now what?"
"I'm going to give you a choice. I can slice away your aura. That blue haze that I can see and Niall can sense. You will no longer be a dragon."
"I'm not a dragon." Bianca looked down at herself. "I'm human."
"You would have shifted to be a Queen at puberty. Now you are stuck."
"Does the slicing thing hurt?"
"Yes," Joachim said.
Bianca searched his face. "Are we talking stubbing your toe type of hurt?"
"Root canal without anesthesia."
She shuddered. "And the other choice would be?"
"I do a ritual with my fellow members of the Order and suppress the curse long enough for you to shift."
"And then what happens?"
"You become a Queen."
"Teeth, tails and wings?"
He nodded. "Maybe not wings. It depends on what type of dragon you are."
"What type of dragon am I?"
"I do not have that knowledge."
"Does it hurt?"
"Yes," Joachim said.
"On the toenail/root canal scale, where would that pain lie?"
"Again, the root canal."
"Great." Bianca finished the water in one gulp and set the glass down. She should have held out for the rum. "What if I choose to do nothing?"
"Your manifestations will grow worse and drive you insane. You'll either suicide or go catatonic."
"That's just happy news all around. Would a manifestation be something as weird as being dragon-struck?"
Joachim nodded. "It would be more serious than dragon-struck. You would be compelled to . . ." he shifted uncomfortably, "be friendly to dragon studs."
"Oh dear," she said. "I'm manifesting."
"That's why we had to find you. Niall had mentioned your case, but refused to provide details. Luckily, I have a spy on campus."
"Byron offered another alternative."
"I bet he did."
Bianca reached into her pocket and pulled out the diary. "Can you read Latin?"
Joachim took it from her. "Where did you get this?"
"I was told there could be a cure for my … ailment in there."
"This was stolen from our archives centuries ago." He pointed to a mark on the cover. "This brand is from our library in Vatican City."
"I didn't steal it. Can you read what it says?"
"I can't. But I know someone who can. I'll be right back." Joachim left the room.
Bianca wasn't sure if she was making a mistake trusting him. But she didn't have a lot of choices. Walking around the room, she noticed the artwork on the walls leaned towards the slaying of dragons rather than the saving of them. If she was a dragon, would they kill her?
"Tell me about Mei Hua," she said when Joachim came back.
"I ordered dinner for us. I'm hoping you like pollo guisado?"
"You got my grandmother in the kitchen?" Estella quirked an eyebrow.
"My mother," he said.
"I’m in. Let's talk Queens." She sat back down on the couch and got comfortable.
"Mei Hua chose the ritual. We found her in an orphanage in China. Unshifted Queens with auras like you have are very rare. Our primary purpose is to find them."
"Then why are you called Dragon Slayers instead of Queen Finders?"
"We already paid for the logo and the stationary? Joachim gave a rueful grin. “No, we don't kill many dragons. They don't give us reason to since the Treaty of 1099. But they should never forget we are watching."
"How can you kill a dragon? I've seen one take a hit from a tank shell. It was badly wounded, but still alive."
Joachim pointed to the weapons on the wall. There was a trident, a pike, and several sabers. "The weapons are magical."
"So if the dragons steal those weapons, you are powerless."
"I will need to keep some secrets from you, Bianca." He laid a hand on his heart.
“So Mei Hua was like me, and she chose to be a dragon.”
“She wanted to be powerful. She wanted to fly." Joachim's face was pained, his eyes haunted.
"What happened?"
"Our security was compromised," he said. "They took her." His jaw tightened.
"Who took her?"
"A team of rogue studs."
"Rogue studs?" Bianca's mind went to Percy.
"We've been unable to track them down. I don't know who they worked for or how they breached our defenses."
"Did they kill her?"
Joachim shook his head slowly. The sadness in his eyes made her own heart hurt. “A Queen is too valuable to kill. She is the only means of keeping the dragon race alive. They took her and are holding her somewhere out of our reach. They are impregnating her and no doubt forcing her to be a brood mother for them.”
“That’s awful,” she said, her stomach no longer wanting the chicken stew.
“We can protect you, but you wouldn’t be able to leave this compound or our protection until you had a defensible castle and a court of studs to protect you.”
“That’s not me,” Bianca said. “I’m a corporate girl. I want to be one of the movers and shakers. I’ve got a job lined up at Smythe for next year.”
“As a Queen the world would move and shake for you.” Joachim scratched the stubble of his beard on his chin. “Smythe would need to beef up his security, but if you named him protector he’d have adequate funds to support you. Personally, I don’t like him. But I seldom like the younger studs.”
“But I wouldn't be a dragon liaison. What would I do?"
"You'd be his Queen."
"What does that mean?"
"It means in return for having his children he will protect you from any stud you didn't wish to have children with."
"Whoa! I don't even know Smythe. I didn't even interview with him."
"Then you can't leave here without protection otherwise we risk losing you like we did Mei Hua."
"That seriously sucks. What about Byron?"
Joachim shook his head. "He has no defenses. We would have lost more men storming any other dragon's lair. And in the end, he gave you up to protect his books."
"He did." Bianca was ridiculously hurt by that. She looked down at her nails and wondered what it would be like to sprout claws. Turning her head to stare out the window, she tried to picture flying off into the clouds. Then being kidnapped and forced to be not only a sex slave, but a brood mother. Jumping to her feet, she paced around the room.
"So if I choose door number two and you cut the aura off me, I can go back to my human life? No problems?” Would she still remember Mary and her court?
“It will be painful. I’m essentially going to cut your soul into two and rip it the dragon half from your body."
Bianca winced. Joachim didn't sugar coat things, that's for sure.
"You’ll have nightmares, but eventually you should be able to have a normal life. With the exception that you won't be able to stand to be in a dragon's presence. It would make you violently ill."
Four years of college and another eight years of post graduate work down the shitter.
There had to be another way.
"Who did you give the book to?" Bianca asked. Because if that turned up a dead end, she would consider Byron. She'd still be the person she always was with the exception she'd have a dragon lover. It sure beat root canal without pain killers and life changing decisions.
"One of our monks."
"How long is it going to take?"
"I'll have an answer for you by morning."
"Can I trust you, Joachim?"
"I will guard your secret. You have my word of honor." He placed his hand over his heart.
"Can I go home?"
"I would rather you enjoy our hospitality and my mother’s cooking and spend the night here. I don't trust what the dragons might do. I have a Queen's suite set up with all the modern conveniences. Anything you could possibly want will be delivered to you."
"Do you have an X-Station?" Bianca asked, naming the new game console on the market. It was sold out and there were going to be a lot of disappointed kids for Christmas this year.
"With Dragon World 4." Joachim grinned unabashedly.
"You make sure my brother gets that under the tree and I'll stay until the journal is translated."
"Spoken like a true Queen."