Dragon's Heart (21 page)

M
aya suddenly came to full awareness. She had no idea
why, but something had pulled her from sleep. She opened her eyes and raised
her head to check on her mother who still appeared asleep. The disturbance
hadn’t come from her, and that’s exactly what she had sensed, a disturbance…a
discord in the environment.
 

She
reached mentally for Ian. Draakar had left him to watch over her while he went
to the house he had here. His use of power to heal her mother had weakened him.
He needed the rest of the brethren to help him access the Stones from this
distance. What he really needed was
her.

Ian,
she sent again.
Only to be met with cold silence. She stood and had started for the door when
it opened. A bright light blinded her vision. Maya raised her hand to shield
her eyes from the glare, but it didn’t seem to help much.

Maya, Ian is hurt. I am coming. The
betrayer is there.
Draakar’s voice abruptly cut off in her mind.

Draakar! Draakar!

At last, Maya, at last you’ve
awakened and I have you.
The sound of an unknown, yet familiar voice vibrated
in her head.

What? Who the hell are you?

You know who I am.

The betrayer. You bastard! What
have you done to Ian?

Familiar
masculine laughter flittered through her mind.
He thought to stop me from entering—again. This time I was able
to show him the error of his ways.

What
he said in her head didn’t really make sense to her.
Did you kill him too, as you’ve killed others?

No, at least not yet. To make sure
it stays that way you will come with me now.

Maya
snorted and raised her chin up a notch.
I
don’t think so. I’m not going anywhere with you. Draakar is on his way as we speak.

 
Yes, I
know, but he will not reach you in time. Quickly, Maya. Come of your own free
will or mine, but either way you will come with me.

     
The betrayer opened up a
limited mindpath, allowing her to see Ian. He lay on his back on the floor, apparently
unconscious. She knew the image in her mind was real. Ian rested in what looked
like a hospital room; he had to be nearby. She could see the wheels of maybe a
hospital bed, but someone knelt over his still body. The person’s face stayed
hidden from her, but that someone held a gun to Ian’s unmoving head. The gun
she could see clearly before the image faded.

     
Well, Maya, do you come with me of your own
free will, and I spare his life? Or do I take you anyway and kill him?

     
Bastard,
she spat.
I’ll come, but you have to let Ian go first.

     
Maya winced as the betrayer
established the link again, not bothering with being as gentle this time. A
sharpness pinched her temples. She watched as the person withdrew the gun from
Ian’s brow and left the room. She still couldn’t see a face, but from the back
and the size it appeared to be a man. He stepped on the elevator, and the
lights above the door indicated it descended, and then the vision stopped.

     
He is safe now and will awaken in a few minutes.
I’ve kept my word. Now do you keep yours?

     
Hell no!
If the
bastard thought she gave in to him without a fight he’d soon see the error of
that sort of thinking. She just needed a chance to strike out with her powers
at the piece of slime without endangering Ian.

     
Just as Draakar taught her,
she raised her shield and built energy to send in the direction of the
betrayer. She couldn’t see him, the light still blinded her, but she could
sense the outline of a man beyond the light. Maya let her rage grow and took a
step toward him. She could feel the familiar burn in her eyes and knew what
they looked like—golden fire. A second from letting loose a bolt of
energy, she heard a choking sound coming from the bed behind her. Distracted,
Maya risked glancing over her shoulder and her heart stood still. Carrie’s eyes
and mouth were open. Her mother’s chest rose and fell as she gasped for breath.
Only the whites of her eyes could be seen.

     
Ah, Maya, Maya, it’s not going to be so
easy. Drop that shield now or she dies.

     
Maya immediately dropped her
shield and tried to reach for Draakar. She met a wall of silence, but he stood
on the other side of that wall. She could feel him. It would only be a matter
of time before he came for her; she had to believe that. Meanwhile, she would
do what she could to help him. She stepped closer to her mother’s bedside and
grabbed the bed rail as she looked down at her.

     
“I’ll go with
you. Just leave my mother alone.”

     
Of your own free will?

     
“Yes, damn you, of my own
free will.”

     
As soon as the
words left Maya’s mouth, her mother’s breathing eased. Maya released the bed
rail as darkness enveloped her. Losing consciousness, she crumbled to the
floor.

    
The bright light
blinked out. A man stepped out of the doorway, bent down and picked Maya up
from the ground. He cradled her lovingly to his chest and kissed her forehead
before walking out of the room and placing her in the waiting wheelchair in the
hall.

     
Her mother on
the bed opened sleep-glazed eyes in time to see a familiar figure cradling her
daughter in his arms. Carrie smiled, then immediately frowned before her
healing body claimed her in sleep once more.

     
On his way back
to the hospital, pain stabbed at Draakar’s temple, a disturbance in the
currents. He raised his head and scented the air. A stench filled his nostrils.
The magicks of a silver dragon. The betrayer was near. The image of Maya
exploded in his mind.
The hospital. He’s
at the hospital…Ian.

     
Yes, Draakar. What…

     
Ian…

     
Silence, cold silence
greeted Draakar’s call and it chilled him to his soul. At least he got a
thought through to Maya before the wall descended. He would not get there in
time.
 
Maya couldn’t face a silver
dragon on her own, but to protect her mother she would.

Hold on!
He kept
sending.
I’m coming!

For the last five minutes a wall of silence continued to meet him. He
raged within himself even as he continued to try to breach the energy barrier
keeping him mentally from Maya.
 

If they were truly joined he would be able to reach her. Nothing short of
death could separate them then. Even better would have been to have his powers
at their peak. He could will himself to the hospital. He couldn’t even take his
dragon form to fly there because he’d cause widespread panic in the streets,
and he wasn’t strong enough yet to cloak his dragon appearance while he
maintained the form. The Stones supported his powers as much as they could, but
they could grant him no more. What he had would have to be enough until he
mated to Maya.
 
He would accept
nothing else. Not this time.

     
He could,
however, get there faster than the car. Draakar had the driver pull over to the
side of the road and before the car came to a complete stop, he’d opened the
door and had both feet on the ground. By the time the car did stop and pulled
back into traffic, he was a half-mile away. Draakar raced at a speed so fast
the human eye merely registered him as a shadow. He sent James and Robert to
continue on in the car to get Maya’s father, and Cass and Darryl raced behind
him to the hospital.

 
Moments instead of minutes later, he
stood in the hospital lobby, but he’d arrived too late. Maya was gone, and he
couldn’t get a sense of her. He went to her mother’s room first to check on
her. He could already feel Ian coming back to consciousness in the room across
the hall where he’d been taken.
 

Maya’s
mother remained asleep when Draakar entered the room. As Draakar stood beside
her bed, Ian stumbled into the room, pressing a hand against his bleeding head.

Lord, I’m sorry. I’ve failed you.

No, Ian, you have not.
Draakar
waved his hand toward Ian, stopping as well as cleaning off the blood and
healing the blow to the side of his head.
It
is my fault. I underestimated the betrayer.
 
It will not happen again.

Ian
straightened up.
I will hunt this bastard
with you.

No. I need you to stay here and
watch over Maya’s mother. Cass and Darryl have just arrived and they will join
you. I will take James and Robert with me when they get here with Maya’s
father. They should all be here soon. Do not let either of Maya’s parents out
of your sight. You all will have to remain in this room and at the door to keep
vigilance. It isn’t safe to move Maya’s mother just yet, I need her close to
human medicines just in case.
     

     
Do you know where he’s taken her?
Ian sent.

     
Not yet, but I know the bastard’s scent. As
soon as the others get here, we hunt.

      
“Who…who’s
there?” came a frail voice from the bed.

     
Draakar took a
deep breath and reined his fear for Maya in; he had to remain calm for Maya’s
mother. She had been through enough. “Everything is all right, Carrie. May I
call you Carrie? I feel as though I know you already. I’m Draakar Akgon, a
friend of Maya’s.”

      
“Yes,
Maya. But I…don’t I know you?”

      
Yes you do.

      
Yes, yes I do know you. You’re
the Dark Dragon Lord. Oh, no…oh, God! Maya!

     
Maya’s mother tried to sit
up and her body trembled in agitation. Draakar placed his hand on her shoulder,
gently pressing her back on the bed and offering comfort. Carrie Trent placed
her hand over his and eyes with a golden tint looked into his. Draakar could
feel her trying to will him to do as she asked, already knowing he would.
“Draakar, you have to save her, please,” Carrie cried hoarsely. “He took her,
he took my baby—and I think he tried to kill me. What’s going on?
 
Where…where’s Vincent?”

     
“Your husband
is on his way now. But Carrie, exactly who took her? Who took Maya?” Draakar
asked in a calm voice, but at the same time he looked into her mind.
 
The scene unfolding in her memory
caused his eyes to smolder while his entire body shook with the force of his
fury.
 

     
The betrayer
had fooled them, fooled him. He had stood no more than an arm’s length from
this creature and did not see him or sense him for his true enemy. How could
this be? No Earth magicks could have cloaked the betrayer while in Draakar’s
presence. It should have been impossible, but it had happened. The betrayer had
been right in front of him and he did not know it. Now the bastard had Maya. If
the betrayer could hide his true self so well, tracking him would not be easy.
He would have to ask Mother Earth for help. His borrowed magicks were slowly
draining and his distance from Maya wasn’t helping.

 
 
“Draakar…Justin,” Carrie choked out. “Justin took my baby.
Justin, who has always been a part of this family, betrayed us. But, what is
he? What am I?”

     
Draakar paused
a moment before answering her. He’d heard her husband’s footfalls in the
corridor. “Vincent is right out side the door. Let’s wait for him and I’ll
explain to you both what has happened. We don’t have much time.”