Chapter Seventeen

 

 

 

Uma blew a stream of fire in her direction, and Dracen dodged it while taking the heads of two other lesser demons. The battle had been waging for a while now and it was down to the Guardians and Them. Their humans had been wiped out, unfortunately there was a never-ending wave of demons to contend with.

While it had begun with the Guardians at different ends of the property, they’d all been gathered into one large area. Including the mates. She knew some of them weren’t happy about it—she could feel the displeasure along their connection—but it wasn’t anything to distract her now. She was confident Luc could hold his own, and he was.

“You’re going to die,” Uma announced as she tossed a long javelin in her direction.

“You thought we wouldn’t be ready,” Dracen taunted. “We were. We won’t be the losers.” Waiting until the last minute, she dodged the projectile and let it pass through the trees behind her.

“You’re all here, and your weakened mentor is all alone.”

“We got an encoded message that said just throw the artifacts up in the moonlight.”

Edmond’s voice echoed through her mind.

“From who?” she asked.

“Still looking into it.”

She gasped and went to her knees when Uma landed a hit. Dropping her knife, she yanked out the spear in her shoulder. Another flew at her head. Before she could decide whether or not to move out of the way, a tendril of gray smoke curved around it and jerked it off to the side.

She tossed the one covered in her blood away and looked in the direction it had come from. Luc ran toward her, his own dragon hovering around him.

“Pay attention,” he yelled at her, firing at Uma.

A warming pulse pumped up through her and she knew without looking it had been from Cale. His signature healing mark identified him. She jumped back into the fray and re-engaged Uma. Hara fought Tiarnán. Pelur took on Roz, and the others each had one of their own. It didn’t look good as she winced from another hit.

Uma grew tentacles for arms and tossed so much at her, Dracen knew there wasn’t going to be a way to get away from it all. A large shape landed before her and took the hits. Stumbling back out of the way, she gazed in shock at the large dragon.

His roar rattled her back teeth, and with one snap of his massive jaws, he delivered a mortal wound to Uma. Then he looked at her.

Red-tipped silver scales burned in the moonlight and flames lingered in his eyes. His mouth opened and she lowered her head, weapons sliding into her hands. She might be about to die but she wasn’t going without a fight.

Some of Them screeched in anger, but the dragon before her didn’t seem all that concerned about them, remaining focused on her.

“Are you just going to stand there or attack?” she demanded.

“I’m not here to hurt you, I am here to protect you.” He turned his head. “And him.”

She knew he looked at Luc, who’d made his way to her side. “Your sign?” he asked.

“Our protection.”

An unholy scream filled the air and she knew it wasn’t good. Lian! She dashed in the direction the rest of the Guardians ran, praying she wouldn’t be too late. They all burst into the clearing and saw Lian standing over Edmond, whose body poured blood into the charred ground. There were three stakes in Lian’s chest as he slowly fell back.

“No!” she screamed.

“Throw the artifacts!”

As one, they all put their artifacts up in the air. She watched them rise. The moon hit them and their blinding light had her squinting. For a flash, it was as if they stared up at the sun.

Cale was beside Lian, removing the spikes and healing him. Behind her, she saw her dragon and Luc dispatch another one of Them. Hara stumbled beneath a strike from Tiarnán. Billy took on Pelur with some help from Calida, who was manipulating the very earth beneath their feet, her hair unbound and flowing in the wind. Cheza, she couldn’t see.

The light faded and she gasped as she realized who she stared at. Lana.

The Guardians backed up so Lian was in the center of their circle of protection. “Get up, Lian,” Cale ordered.

He didn’t move. Clouds moved in and the rain began. But the woman who floated above them shone with a light not even the rain could dampen. As she neared, she saw Them weaken even more.

“Protect him,” Dracen called to Cale before she ran toward another of Them. Ignoring the strikes she took, she launched up and called two swords, which she pierced through each of its eyes, into the brain. Normally it wouldn’t have worked, but she could feel them weakening.

In the rain and storm, they battled. The tide was turning. She searched for Luc as she engaged another she’d never seen before. He was beside Altair, cutting something apart with the fire from their assault rifles.

She peered up, but no longer saw Lana hovering there. When the last one fell, all six of them returned to Lian’s side.

“Say your goodbyes.” The voice she’d heard from the dragon echoed in her head and the full weight of what he said hit her, making her stagger.

Dracen stood there, chest heaving, heart ripping. The tears streaming from her eyes mingled with the rain pouring down, blending them together. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. They’d won. The Guardians had defeated Them. Her family should be safe and on its way to recovery, not about to lose the one who’d united them all.

She blinked and glanced around her. Cale, Billy, Roz, Aminta and Tiarnán neared, walking out of the cold mist rising from the ground. Dracen angled her head enough so she could meet Luc’s gaze. His forest green and gray gaze met hers, full of love and compassion. She knew he would be at her side if she gave him the slightest indication.

Right now, this was the time the Guardians had to say goodbye, and their mates held back. Her weapons slid away and she collapsed to her knees by Lian. His skin had sunken in, his black eyes were tired.

“I don’t want you to go.”

“You no longer need me. None of you,” he said, gazing between the six Guardians. “You have come into your own. I have done all I can. Words cannot begin to convey how proud all of you have made me.”

All her brethren dropped to their knees and rested a hand on Lian.

“We need you,” she protested, unwilling to let him go. “You can fight this, you can survive.”

“Of course I can, little dragon. But I’m tired. I want to go be with my Lana. She’s waiting for me, just there.”

Dracen and the others looked up in time to see the woman who’d returned when all the artifacts had been combined—the hope of the world—walk into view. Her feet hovered over the ground and her silvered hair blew gently in the wind. The moment she touched the earth, flowers sprang up from her footsteps. The rain faded and they were surrounded by a warm breeze, which carried a rich, floral scent. A healing one. A loving one.

“It’s time, Lian,” she said, her voice a melodic whisper.

“Coming, my love.” He struggled to rise and the men helped him to his feet.

Dracen pushed to her feet as well, reaching out a hand to touch his wrist, the leather band he’d worn hiding his mark no longer there. The glint of his ring, his gold and silver binding knot wedding ring, grabbed her attention, causing her to pause. The ring itself wasn’t anything new for him to wear but the luster it had was unlike anything she’d seen before. Almost as if it gleamed with the power of the sun, moon and all the stars combined.

“They will return,” she said, still unwilling to let him go.

“It is a cycle.” Lana neared him and leaned into kiss his cheek. Before their eyes, his skin filled in and regained its healthy glow and the glyphs began appearing on his exposed body. “My watch is over and it is now yours.” He stared at all of them. “Each of yours.”

She shook her head. “No.”

Lian looked in her eyes and turned his arm so he could encompass her hand with his. In the black depths, Dracen saw more than he would, or could, ever say. “My time is done, Dracen. It is no longer the job of one to keep them at bay. The job of the Keeper has been split between all of you.” He tightened his grip. “I was born of their rage and hate, you, little dragon, were born for love. Your dragon has always watched over you. You possess what I did, in that you can sense them. Your blood allows for that. His presence opens a whole new realm of what is possible. Calida.” He looked at Tiarnán then beyond to his mate, who had walked up with the others. The twelve of them were in a circle around Lian and his lifelong love. “Calida has the hope of the world inside her, the gifts bestowed upon my Lana have been granted to her.”

His words shocked not only her but everyone else there, aside from Calida, and Dracen realized then she’d been aware of what was to be expected of her. Her respect for the woman went up even more—she’d taken it and accepted her fate head-on.

“Each of you, and your mates, is stronger when united. Not separated. You have what you need within this circle. Look to each other. Love. And most importantly. Live. I love each and every one of you. I am honored to have had the opportunity to know you and have you in my life. Every day was a blessing, and I can only hope you have learned from me as I have from you.”

Lana stepped forward and reached up to touch Dracen’s cheek. “I know you think I am taking him from you. I suppose in a way I am, but he’s right, he’s not needed anymore. You all are ready for whatever else may come. Allow him to rest now.” Tears glistened like diamonds on her cheeks. “I’ve watched over you, all of you, and the joy you brought to his life. I know you didn’t know me, but you are all my children as well. I love you as he does. Our love will never fade from this place. Goodbye.”

Lana stepped back and turned in Lian’s arms. Dracen couldn’t find any words. Luc’s presence at her back brought her silent support. The look Lian bestowed upon Lana nearly broke her heart, it was so full of love. In that moment, she saw him as he was when Lana had been alive. Glyphs moved along his skin, alive and pulsing.

Lian threaded his hands in Lana’s hair, murmured to her in Chinese, then kissed her. Deeply. Passionately.

Their bodies glowed and moments later, they were gone. Dracen gulped and stumbled forward, her momentum would have carried her to the ground if not for Luc snaking an arm around her, keeping her on her feet.

Around her, she witnessed the pain in the others’ faces. The tears they shed. As they stood there, the ground dotted with a myriad of colors as flowers sprang up from thick green grass.

Dracen looked at Calida who shook her head. It was from Lana, not her. Dracen closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing. She hurt. So much.

As one they broke away, paired off with their mates to grieve in private. She allowed Luc to support much of her weight, for her limbs felt heavier than ever.

He closed the door to their room behind him, turned so her back was to the wood, and cupped her cheek with both hands. She stared at him, his face no longer covered by wounds and blood but healed and healthy. In his gaze there were flecks of silver, intermixing with the dark green she’d fallen for that first night. The stripes had gone.

“I’m so sorry, Dray.” He brought his head closer and rested against her. Nothing else was said, he stood like that for a moment, and she closed her eyes once more, willing the tears away.

He kissed each eyelid and lifted her into his arms. She allowed him to take her where he would, and at the slight bounce when he placed her on the bed, she merely turned into the nearest pillow and tried to find some strength. Luc joined her and took the place of her pillow.

“I don’t know what to do now,” she said after a while of silence.

“Who says you have to figure it all out now?”

“They’re counting on it. We have to be prepared.”

“I’m pretty sure right now you’re allowed to rest and grieve.”

It was what she loved about Luc. One of the many things. He never sounded judgmental, just matter of fact. And he was right, she did need to grieve.

So she did.

 

* * * *

 

Cheza cautiously moved the heavy slab concealing her hideaway to the side. To her strength it was akin to flicking aside a gnat, but still she moved with caution. Once a sliver had been exposed, she slipped through, having shrunk her body to be invisible to the naked eye. Lifting to the air, she levitated while she scented.

The metallic tang of blood could be tasted as she sent her power out to search for what she sought. Death and destruction came to her as well. She continued to rise up in the air until she could see the endless lands she coveted.

They had been defeated. She’d fled the battlefield while her fellow creatures had lain dead and dying. She had no qualms about doing so—they would have abandoned her had they thought ahead and made plans as she’d done. Once the arrival of the hope of the world had arrived, the tide had visibly shifted.

It hadn’t mattered how many mindless drones they’d sent ahead to help battle, the Guardians had cut them down. Once They had entered the battle for a short time, she’d wondered if they wouldn’t actually succeed. Then the hope had arrived.

Cheza lowered herself back to the ground and slipped back inside the volcano she was making her home. The remote locale was perfect for what she needed. Transforming to her massive size once the rock had again sealed her inside, she made her way down the long winding path toward the molten lava heating the base.

Lying on a bed made of grasses, leaves and dead animals lay her baby. Hara had gotten her pregnant, and the moment she’d learned about this, she’d changed her plans. She’d begun working on her contingency plan. Her strength combined with Hara’s, her offspring at her side, they would be stronger than ever.

The Guardians will eventually let down their guard, believing themselves safe. When they do, I and my son will take over. We will be victorious where the others were not. There will be no infighting. We will be united.

She hissed as pleasure raced through her. Her baby lifted his serpentine head and bared rows of razor-sharp fangs in her direction, his hiss unfriendly. She reached out and didn’t complain when he sank those same teeth into her and drank her blood.

Yes, eat. Feed. Grow. Hate.

While the rest of the world continued on above them, they would lay low here. Her son would grow and soon, they would take back what was rightfully theirs. The world.