Claimed by the Dragon King (5 page)

Chapter Eight

“How about this?” I say, hefting up a gold helm. “This thing weighs at least 20 pounds! It might break someone’s neck,” I laugh and hand it over to Georgia.

“That’s the idea, just hopefully not one of ours,” she jokes, turning the helm over in her wrinkled hands. For an old woman she’s surprisingly strong. “Can you see the spells that are still on it?” she quizzes. I can tell that she wants to see how far my Witchsight can go. I’m nearly charged up now so I don’t have to do much to see the two spells that are imbued into the gold.

“It has a Strength spell on the outside,” I answer taking the helm back and flipping it over. “On the inside there’s another one for Sight. It’s weakened but I think it’s supposed to give the wearer the ability to see long distances. Could we repair the spell?”

“Good,” she says with a smile. She looks like a proud mother hen. “We can fortify it but I don’t think we can fully repair it. Let’s put it in the keeper pile. One of the smaller giants could probably use it. I’ll make a note about the damage.”

I add it to the growing collection of swords, amulets, shields, and other weapons that we have managed to find in Ash’s treasure horde. I’m still in awe of how much treasure he has and how much cool stuff we’ve found. My favorite so far is a ring with a huge green stone that had a spell I couldn’t figure out until I put it on and could jump about 50 feet in the air. I’m glad Ash wasn’t around to see that! I hit a pile of treasure on the way down and put a serious dent in a jeweled gold cup. Oops! I hid that in the back corner of the room, maybe one day I’ll tell him about it. We also found quite a few scary, dark magic items like chainmail that will allow the wearer to be possessed by a powerful demon, an amulet that shoots ice bolts and a stone that will release a shockwave knocking out everyone in a 30 foot radius, but killing the person who set it off. It’s certainly intriguing but definitely not worth it. We can’t have things like that getting into the wrong hands. We made sure to put those ones off to the side. I’m gonna have to talk to him about some of the things he has in here…

I gently place the helm next to a pair of troll hide bracers and turn back to what we’ve been sorting for the last few hours. We’ve managed to sort half of this pile in the last hour. We’re moving faster but it seems like there’s still a lot left. Georgia gently grabs the hilt of a longsword and pulls it from the heap, causing a cascade of coins and gems. I scoop up the coins and toss them into the ever growing pile of currency and do the same for the gems after I’ve checked that they’re not hiding any useful spells.

Ash is not happy that we are pawing through his treasure but he did seem intrigued by the idea of having it sorted and organized. There’s no way we are going to be able to do all of it now but this seems like a good start. Georgia waves the sword around her head and I have to stifle a gasp. She might be an older woman but she looks like she can handle a weapon.

“I might have to keep this one for myself,” she flips the sword over and reads and old inscription on the blade.

“Keep?” Ash growls from behind us. “It’s dwarven and worth a small fortune.” Guess he couldn’t stay away. He’s so cute being all protective of his treasure.

“I’ll certainly be giving it back after all of this is done with,” Georgia say’s sternly but with a smile. “I can’t imagine what I’ll need a sword for once Arralt is gone for good.”

“Good,” he snaps.

I pull Ash away from Georgia. I knew this was going to be tough but there’s no reason to get angry with Georgia. She adds the sword to the list and goes back to sorting the treasure, giving us our space.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs. He grabs a handful of coins from the pile and grips them tightly in his palm. “I don’t know how to shake this feeling.”

“What feeling?” I ask, tenderly brushing his tense arm muscles with my finger tips.

“I’ve never had anyone go through my treasure before. I feel like I need to hide it, all of it. It’s like an itch I can’t scratch. I’ve been pacing outside all day deciding if I should come in here or not.” He walks over to the pile of stuff that we’ve set aside to use. “All of this?” he asks.

“This is just the beginning,” I say.

“I know,” he grumbles. “I hope you realize that if I don’t get all of this back, I will be hunting it down.”

“We can talk about that after Renewal day. Our best chance at making it through this is to have our side as prepared as possible. We’ve talked about this.”

He crouches down and runs his fingers over a mound of simple gold rings. He inhales sharply. “What are you planning on using these for?” he says through clenched teeth.

“Communication,” I say quickly. I’ve got to get him out of here before he decides we can’t use his treasure anymore. “We’ve got to be able to tell everyone when to attack since we’ll all be in different parts of the crowd.”

“Right,” he says standing up and hastily jamming his hand in his pocket. I can’t help but feel amused and irritated at the same time.

“Asher,” I say warningly, holding my palm out.

“What?” he snaps. “Oh fine.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out one of the rings. “This is killing me! I’ve got to get out of here.”

“Go.” I laugh. “You’re being a nuisance, you thieving Dragon.”

He gives me a swift kiss and set’s off out the door at a near jog. I hope he’s not going to go stretch his wings, although it would probably relieve a lot of his tension. Arralt is undoubtedly on the lookout for Asher and we can’t risk having him spotted this close to Renewal Day.

My stomach flutters with nervous anticipation as I think about tomorrow. Our fighters are going to blend into the crowd and attack as soon as Ash gives the command. And then we just have to get close enough…

Georgia has managed to pull out a few more pieces to inspect, so I walk over and join her.

“Sorry about that,” I say.

“He’s a Dragon, no need to apologize. I would be more alarmed if he didn’t feel territorial about his treasure.” Georgia plucks a couple of gold rings out of a small leather bag and dumps the remaining coins into their respective pile. “I think we have nearly enough rings, not everyone is going to need one I should think.”

“Is this going to work?” I ask, my apprehension growing with every second moving us closer to Renewal Day. I grab a dusty tiara and nervously wipe it clean.

“It’s the best chance we’ve had since this whole mess began. We have more support than we’ve ever had before. Not to mention that we have a Dragon on our side this time. They’ll have no idea what hit them.”

She notices my nervousness and touches my shoulder warmly. “Well now that is impressive,” she says, inspecting the tiara.

“Woah.” I can’t believe the size of the diamonds on this thing. The one in the center is the size of an egg and surrounded by rubies. “It’s gorgeous,” I whisper. I’ve never been overly fond of diamonds but this piece seems to have awakened some sort of feminine instinct.

“It will look wonderful with your dress,” Georgia say’s with a playful smirk.

“I still haven’t decided what I’m going to wear,” I mutter. My heart sinks at the thought of trying to find something in my limited wardrobe that would even remotely compliment this beautiful dress. Most of my clothes were in my apartment anyways, and there’s no way I can go back there.

“Oh I think the decision is already made.” Georgia walks over to her bag near the door and comes back with a white box with a black silk ribbon. That fabric looks awfully familiar…

I open the box and pull out a long slinky black dress edged with fine lace.

“How...” I stammer. “Where did you get this?”

“Cera made it for you as a way of saying thank you. That girl has more talent than I think even she knew she had. That awful man she was working for didn’t give her enough credit. She’s been working hard at making dresses for the whole coven but I think she put a little bit more into yours. Do you like it?”

“I love it!” I hold it up against my body. I can’t wait to get this thing on. I wonder what Ash is going to think? He’ll probably want to rip it off me. Maybe I can keep it a surprise until the last minute.

“She’ll be glad to hear it,” Georgia say’s smiling warmly. “So many of the women in your coven have special talents because they never had a chance to do everything with magic. Some would say that they’re more human for having talent outside of magic but I’m starting to think we shouldn’t teach it at such a young age. When this is all over with we’re going to have a great responsibility to make sure magic is used more appropriately.”

“Oh, right.” My thoughts rush to my conversation with Asher about giving the magic back to the people of the Underground, about not being King. He still hasn’t said anything about it yet and I’m too scared to bring it up again. When Arralt is finally gone, if Asher does decide to keep the magic and rule the Underground, we are definitely going to have our work cut out for us…

“I guess I never really thought about the after part,” I admit sadly. I feel like such an idiot for thinking I was finally going to have Asher all to myself with no curse to hold us back. He’s going to have thousands of magicfolk all clamouring for his attention.

“It’s alright dear. I suspect that when Asher finally does accept his inheritance things are going to start naturally shifting on their own. We will likely all have a little less magic at first, which is undoubtedly a good thing, but we will finally be able to live freely Uptop.”

“Do you…” Argh, I feel stupid for even asking this but if anyone would have advice it’s Georgia. “Do you think Asher will need me when he becomes King?” It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot more since we decided to move forward with this whole plan. Especially after seeing how he reacted to this treasure horde, I don’t see how he’s going to be able to give up all the magic he was supposed to inherit as King of the Dragons.

“My dear,” Georgia says, grabbing both of my hands in her own. “I suspect he will need you more than even he knows…” She reaches up and tucks a lock of my wild red hair behind my ear. I hope she’s right. I want to be able to help Asher when he’s King but I’m not a dragon. Hell, I’m still just trying to figure out how my own weird magic works. She pulls me in for a hug and I sink into it. Georgia smells of cinnamon cookies and her hug makes me feel warm and whole inside. “I think we’re all through here,” she says pulling away. Was that a tear she just wiped from her eye? I help her pack up all of the stuff we’ve managed to find and she sets off for home.

Alone in Asher’s lair, I sit on the end of the golden bed, eyeing the shackles at the head. We need to charge up before the fight, there’s no way around it. Magic boost aside, I just simply
need
him. We might not make it through this fight. It could be the last time.

Taking a deep breath, I strip off my clothes and lay on the cool flat surface. The shackles are locked and I don’t know where the key is, so I morph into flames and materialize with my wrists inside them.

“I suppose I’ll never be able to fully restrain you now,” Asher laughs, startling me. My cheeks flush in embarrassment. Has he been watching me the whole time?

I never do get a chance to ask him. Ash is on top of me before I get a word out, plunging his forked tongue into my mouth as he pushes my knees apart.

Chapter Nine

“Relax!” Ruby whispers in my ear with a laugh. “We still have a few hours to get into place. Let’s enjoy this while we can!”

She tugs at my arm and pulls me into the crowd. The streets are filled with Undergrounders, dressed in some truly magical fashion. Everyone seems to have tried to outdo everyone else. A wizard in purple robes with hair that slowly shifts from blue, to green, to yellow and then back again to blue. His glassy eyes crinkle at the corners as he takes a sip from a bottle of something gold and fizzy.

A gaggle of older witches wind their way towards us and my face flushes red. The dresses that they’re wearing appear to be made of clouds but their spell is fading and flashing everyone a peek at their full breasts. I can hardly believe that they haven’t noticed! Most of these people are normally very reserved and formal. It’s bizarre to see them without reservations…

The artificial sunlight is dropping on the city, casting long shadows over the rough cobbled streets. Street lights blink on and the party continues unaware of the day creeping forward, lost in drunken abandon. The first few stars flicker to life in the pseudo-sky and the weight of what we are doing presses against my mind. The Underground has been this place where I tried to fit in but was never allowed to feel like I really belonged. Just a few weeks ago, I would have come to this celebration as a different person-- as someone who wanted to fit in with all of these people and would have done anything for a taste of kinship. Now, with Ruby and Ash by my side, I’m a new person with a new mission. This cavern and it’s high ceiling have trapped me for too long. These stars, though they are beautiful, are nothing compared to the real thing and I can’t wait to share it with all of the Magicfolk.

I straighten the mask on my face. I remember feeling so nervous about creating my Renewal day outfit back in the library when I was still a broken useless witch. I had no idea then that I would be here today, easily fitting in amongst the throngs of dazzling costumes. My mask sparkles and shifts color from blue, to red, to orange, and then to brilliant white-- like a flame crawling across my face. I let Ruby style my wild red hair into a sleek braid tucked into the diamond and ruby tiara from Asher’s horde. I’ve never felt more beautiful in my life but it’s what’s under my jacket that’s going to complete the look...

We still have quite a way to walk. The castle is in the city center and we are surrounded by thousands of magicfolk. If this whole celebration wasn’t actually a way to trap Asher for another thousand years it would be incredibly fun. There aren’t many occasions for everyone to gather like this, in fact I don’t think the Underground has ever seen a celebration so lively. Every street has it’s own band. So far we’ve passed witches singing spelled ballads that have everyone around them entranced and swaying in time with their music and a group of leprechauns playing a hearty Irish jig with lines of dancers stepping and clapping merrily. It’s hard to not get swept up in the reckless abandon of the revelers.  Someone bumps into me roughly and dumps something very saucy down my jacket front.

“Watch where you’re going,” Asher says, grabbing the man and pushing him away from us. The guy gets off the ground quickly with his fists raised but he quickly lowers them when he sees who he’s trying to fight. Ash glares at the man as he quickly pushes his way back into the crowd.

“I think my jacket’s ruined,” I say, trying miserably to knock off what looks like marinara. “Oh well.” I start to unbutton the front and my heart beats faster knowing that Asher is getting ready to see my big reveal. I drop my coat on the ground and lock eyes with him. His gaze devours me hungrily and a tiny gasp escapes his throat.

“You look amazing,” he says pulling me into his body roughly. I’m not surprised to feel his hardening response against my stomach but I am surprised at how much I want to jump him right here and now. If only the slit in this dress were a little higher…

“You like it?” I ask, pushing him playfully away so I can do a twirl. I can’t tease him much more with all of these people around.

“You look like a queen,” he says with a sly look. “Just how my queen should look,” he growls pulling me to him again and gently pressing his lips to mine.

“Will you be my queen Melinda Merrick?” he whispers in my ear. I chuckle and pull his lips back to mine. I kiss him feverishly, panting, wanting more. Damn this crowd and all of these people. I run my hands over his rock hard stomach, feeling the rippling muscles there, wanting to go lower. Something nibbles at my mind and the realization of what Asher just asked slaps me in the face. Wait, did he just..? I push him back, my heart beating wildly.

“Did you just ask me to marry you?” I ask in disbelief. I never really thought he would want me to be a queen, after all I’m not a dragon. Tears form in my eyes.

“Lindy, you’re my best friend and I’m an idiot for not asking you sooner. Georgia tipped me off about how these days women expect to be asked to marry. I had no idea about this silly custom…” He looks embarrassed. My brain has stopped working and I’m pretty sure my mouth is hanging open awkwardly as he gets down on one knee and pulls out a ring. “I can understand if you don’t want to be my queen, Melinda but I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Yes,” I say, bending my knees and grabbing his face with my hands. “I will be your queen Asher.” A cheer goes up from the crowd as Asher stands and picks me up in his strong arms and kisses me deeply. He puts me back on my feet and slides the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen on my finger. I don’t have much time to marvel at the delicate gold fingers encasing the huge round canary diamond because Ruby runs over and squeezes my neck. Asher is shaking hands with a few people from the crowd who’ve come over to congratulate us.

“You’re getting married!” she squeals, jumping up and down enthusiastically. Her puffy eyes and pink nose tell me that she’s been crying. “Oh, I’m just so happy for you!” She pulls out a handkerchief dabs at her eyes.

“Thanks!” I don’t think even Arralt could take the smile from my face at this point. I can’t believe Georgia talked to him about this. I’m going to have to find her later and give her a huge hug. Ash smiles and wraps an arm around my shoulders. If we weren’t going to start a war in a few hours this would be my most perfect moment.

“I hope you can fight in that thing,” Ash says, fingering the strap on my dress.

“It’s stretchy,” I chuckle, tugging at the fabric to show how it moves. “Cera spelled it so it wouldn’t get in the way. Plus I have this.” I pull the slit open just enough so that he can see the strap around my upper thigh. I’m surprised it’s stayed in place, seeing as it’s holding one of the magical daggers we found in Ash’s treasure horde. I pull the dress back into place and look up at him. He looks worried.

“Please be careful, Lindy. I… I can’t lose you,” he says.

“I can’t lose you either,” I say.

We still have a few hours before Arralt is supposed to give his speech and cast the Renewal spell so we continue our slow walk through the crowd. I’m still on high alert, looking for the telltale black robes of a SIGMA Seeker but I haven’t seen one yet...

The masses of magic folk certainly are enjoying themselves and I can’t help but envy them. A Fae woman with real peacock feathers growing out of her back hands us each a bottle of the gold fizzy drink. Maybe if I just take a sip of something it will help me relax.

“Partaking in the festivities?” Ash asks warningly but with a slight smile. He’s joking but at the same time serious. I can’t blame him, we can’t have our side getting too carried away.

“I just want a sip to calm my nerves,” I answer, swatting him with my hand. “Maybe you should have some too. We’re supposed to be fitting in, not scowling at everyone.”

I pop the cap and raise the bottle to my nose. It smells like spiked ginger brew. Just as I’m about to take a swig an alarm bell goes off inside me. There’s something else there that I didn’t register at first… something that shouldn’t be. I drop the bottle and it smashes on the ground.

“Don’t drink it!” I shout. Ruby spits out the sip she had just taken.

“What’s wrong?” Ash growls pulling us closer and watching the crowd to make sure no one has noticed us.

“It’s spelled. I can’t tell exactly what it’s for without using my magic but I know it’s not good. I think it’s the reason all these people don’t have any inhibitions. You could probably kill someone right in front of them and they wouldn’t bat an eye.”

“This isn’t good,” Ash grumbles. “Ruby, did you drink any?”

“I might have swallowed a little but I spit most of it out!” She sounds scared. Ash holds his hand up to his mouth and rubs the thin band of gold, activating the spell.

“Under no circumstances should anyone drink or eat anything that is being offered. It is spelled. I repeat. Do not consume anything.”

My own ring grows warm and I can hear Ash’s message echoing in my head. I’m glad our communication system works but I’m also really nervous now. What if our people have already been drinking this stuff?

“Colin,” Ash say’s into his ring. It’s exhilarating watching Ash in charge. It suits him, and it’s incredibly hot.

Colin appears from behind us. “Yes, sir?” he asks.

“It’s possible that Ruby has consumed some of the Fae drink. We’re not sure what it’s effects are yet but I want you to post one of your guards with her at all times,” Ash commands.

Colin nods in affirmation and gazes intently over at Ruby. “I’ll guard her myself sir.”

Ruby smiles at Colin and turns to grab my arm as we continue to walk through the crowd.

“What was in the drink?” she asks. There’s an edge to her voice and I can tell that she’s trying really hard not to panic.

“It’s some kind of Control spell. I didn’t get a really good look at it, it’s hard with liquids for some reason. I think it’s the reason all of these people are acting so crazy.”

“Oh god,” Ruby mutters. “I hope that I don’t start acting that way!” She turns to look at Colin and Ash and her face flushes bright red. “Don’t let me say anything stupid in front of them, okay?”

“Don’t worry. You’ll be fine,” I reassure her but I’m not entirely telling the truth. I hope she didn’t swallow very much of that stuff because I could see that it was a very strong spell. There’s no telling what she might do. She loosens her grip on my arm and starts to relax a little.

“He is pretty cute though, right? I mean… I’m not imagining it?”

“Colin?” I stifle my chuckle. “He’s handsome,” I admit, hoping that they can’t hear us. They’re walking pretty close behind us and when I turn my head to check it looks like they’re having some kind of animated discussion.

“Good,” she sighs with relief. “Because I want to jump his bones.” Her eyes go wide when she realizes her admission. “Oops! I can’t believe I just said that.” She covers her mouth her her hand before succumbing to uncontrollable giggles. Colin reaches through us and pulls back on Ruby’s shoulder.

“Are you okay?” he asks gruffly.

“She’s fine,” I say with a smile.

“Not as fine as you are,” Ruby blurts out with another bout of giggles. Colin removes his hand with a perplexed look on his face.

“Do you think he’ll be my date to your wedding? You should ask Cera to make your dress! It will be perfect. Do you like roses or lilies? I bet Georgia would let you borrow something blue,” Ruby says in one breath. If I wasn’t so scared for her it would actually be kind of fun to be talking about this with her.

“We’ve got to make it through today first,” I remind her with a sad smile. I have more at stake now than ever. I can’t lose Ash or Ruby, hell, I can’t lose anyone. I never had anyone to really care about before but now my life is filled with such wonderful people. It’s a burden that I’m happy to carry.

“Oh my god! Edgar!” Ruby cries leaning down and comes back up with my old friend clutched to her, purring loudly.

“So, she’s obviously had some of that Fae drink,” Edgar says.

“How did you know that?” I ask curiously. I reach over and scratch his neck in just right the right spot.

“Overly affectionate, the giggling,” he answers. “It’s happened to a few of our people.”

“How many,” Ash demands butting into the conversation.

“At least 4,” Edgar replies. “With her, 5. I came to report that they have been isolated and removed from the area.” Edgar seems to be over his attitude with Ash. Good, I wouldn’t want them to be bickering here, today, especially not today.