Dragon's Heart (23 page)

    
“What? Are you deaf, too? Never! I
will never be yours!”

     
Never is not a long time by dragon
standards. Don’t worry. I will be patient a little while longer, but mine you
are, so get used to it. As soon as I kill Draakar there will be nothing
standing between us, and you will come to me of your own free will.

“Ha! Lie to yourself all you want, it’s not happening. Draakar will come
for me, and he will kill you and if he doesn’t, I will.” Maya knew she could
and would kill this man, not only because if what she suspected he did to both
her mother and grandmother were true, but also for all he had done in the past
and what he would do in the future. He had to be stopped.

His smile showed only teeth and a coldness lit his eyes.
Oh, I want him to come after me. I’ve been
waiting a long time to finish what I started. As far as who will kill whom,
well, we shall see. No one will stand in my way. I will kill him as I have
killed others.

Maya couldn’t help herself. She had to know. “Did you…did you have
anything to do with my grandmother’s accident? With my mother?”

  
The man she knew as Justin merely
stared at her with those eerily silver eyes. No, not Justin, he never existed.
It had always been the silver dragon. At first Maya thought he wasn’t going to
answer her question, then she heard him in her mind and wished to God she
hadn’t.

I wasn’t going to let anyone stand
in my way. Your grandmother was cleverer than I thought. She never trusted me.
Most people do you know. A year ago she came across some information, how I’m
still not sure. Anyway, she began to ask questions about my background. She
asked those questions of my business associates and I believe she hired a
private detective. He passed some of the things he learned on to your
grandmother. Things that would have seemed innocent by themselves, but put
together by the wrong person had the potential of causing problems for me.
Under such close scrutiny combined with her intuitiveness, it wouldn’t have
taken long for your nana to figure out my identity didn’t hold up, and some of
my associates were not part of the law-abiding community. For some reason my
mind control could not work on her. She was able to see the truth and not what
I wanted her to see.

“You mean she recognized you for the evil you really are.”

His hands clenched at his sides and his chest rose and fell faster.
She recognized my power and feared it. So
you see, I had no choice really. She had the ability to turn you against me
because like her, I couldn’t control you either. Somehow, she knew where to
look, how to look to reveal some of my shadier dealings, and she would have
revealed these things to you. So as I said, I had no choice. I couldn’t fool
her; she was a threat and had to be removed. Conveniently, by accident, so
there would be no suspicion of anything else.

Maya took deep gulps of air before she could bring herself to say
anything.
 
“You…you killed my
grandmother!” She suspected it but to hear him so callously rationalize his
thinking numbed her mind.

He held up his hands palms forward.
It
wasn’t my hand that killed her. I would spare you that.

“Bastard!” she screamed, balling her hands into fists. “Your hands carry
her blood.
 
It’s because you wanted
her dead she is. Then you turned around and tried to kill my mother, too.”

Actually, no. If I wanted your
mother dead she would be. I just wanted to make sure she was close enough to
death you would return home. My plan was to restore her for you and earn your
gratitude.
His features scrunched up into a sneer.
Ah, but Draakar showed up with you. No matter. This just makes it
easier to kill him. Away from the Stones, his powers will not be as strong.
 

Done being numb by his revelations, blood rushed through Maya’s body,
giving her additional strength. She dug deep within herself, letting the anger
guide her. She could feel her magick lying within but couldn’t reach it no
matter how hard she tried. She sent a mental call again to Draakar and met
silence. “Some way, some how, I will kill you,” she promised.

The beast merely smiled as though she told him something amusing. This
just made her angrier. Her eyes blazed with heat, but no fire erupted from
their depths to incinerate him where he stood. She took a step forward and
raised her fist to punch the smirk off his face. Immediately, he raised his
shield and shook his finger at her as if she were a wayward child.

Maya slowly lowered her hand, but made it clear by the tenseness of her
body and her facial express if she could hurt him, better yet kill him, she
would not hesitate. None of which seemed to faze him one bit.

I have to leave you for a while,
sweetheart. I have to lay the trail for Draakar to find you. Meanwhile, I’ve
left you a little something to eat. Time runs a little differently in most of
the realms, and you may be here for a while. As you will soon discover, there
is neither food nor water in this place. You can’t access your powers here so
you can neither summon food to you nor create it from matter. I don’t want you
to starve and have to go into a hibernation state. I need you awake and alert
for when I return.

The betrayer raised his hand as if he wanted to touch her, but when she
glared at him he lowered his outstretched hand before he reached her.
I will always take good care of you, Maya,
and attend to all of your needs.

Obviously Justin’s power trip fried his brain. Before Maya could form a
scathing reply, he took one step backward and the tear reopened in the mist
behind him. She again caught a glimpse of rocks and this time a dirt floor.
Once his entire body appeared on the other side, the tear closed
immediately.
 

It took a moment for Maya to move; when she did she shook with anger and
frustration. Walking over to the spot where the tear had appeared, she found
nothing there but vapor filled space. She easily walked back and forth across
the area, yet remained in the mist-covered realm. As she turned around, her
foot struck something solid and she looked down. Exactly where she had seen the
bottom of the tear appear sat a wicker picnic basket that hadn’t been there
before.

She kneeled down in front of it and opened the lid and found it stocked
with enough food for a picnic for one. It included a bottle of water, a bottle
of her favorite red wine, a baguette and lamb marsala—still hot. This was
no picnic though, far from it. She took out the bottle of water and closed the
basket lid. Hungry or not she couldn’t bring herself to eat any of the food.
She didn’t trust Justin not to drug it, and she’d stay away from the wine. She
would need her wits about her. Opening the bottle of water, she took a sniff.
It appeared to be just water. She tested it by just wetting her tongue. Cold,
nothing strange, so she took a sip and enjoyed the sensation of the cool fresh
taste gliding over her tongue and down her throat. Still thirsty, she only took
one more small sip; no telling how long she had to make the water last.
 

With the bottle in hand, Maya stood and walked away from the basket. She
wanted to explore her surroundings, maybe try to get beyond the mist. Anything
to evade Justin, or rather, the betrayer. She’d be damned if she referred to
him any other way.

She’d been walking around long enough for the ice-cold bottle to turn
warm from the heat of her grasp, but it didn’t seem to matter which direction
she went; it all looked the same. At first she tried walking in a straight
line, as straight as she could without visual markers, and counted her steps as
she walked. When she reached one thousand and nothing whatsoever had changed in
the view, she stopped. She had once read somewhere the secret to most mazes was
to always take left turns. This didn’t appear to be a maze but she didn’t have
any other ideas, so she turned left and continued walking.
 

She stopped counting after two hundred steps because she saw something up
ahead. As she got closer to the object, Maya couldn’t believe her eyes. She ran
toward it, coming to a stop right in front of it. Dropping to her knees she
opened the lid of the basket, already knowing what she’d find. The picnic
basket, just as she’d left it, minus the water bottle. How could that be?

She placed her head in her hands and groaned. “Well, shit!”

T
he black Hummer pulled up in front of the Center
For Performing Arts at George Mason University in Fairfax. It stopped beside a
tall young man with ridiculously long blond hair, standing on the sidewalk,
obviously waiting for this ride. When the door opened beside him, he slung his
backpack off his shoulder before climbing into the car. He hesitated briefly as
his eyes met those of the man who sat in the back seat. The young man couldn’t
maintain eye contact and lowered his head. Slowly, he eased onto the plush
leather seat and shut the door, placing his backpack on the floor between them.

     
Draakar shifted
his head slightly. Talon watched as the emerald glow emanating from his
father’s eyes grew brighter, revealing a face very similarly featured to his
own—minus the overt expression of anger—but his father had a right
to be angry.

I’m sorry, Father, but you know why
I had to do it.

I understand, that still doesn’t
mean I’m not angry with you. You placed yourself in danger by cutting yourself
off from me. There is a silver dragon loose in this world. He has already
attacked our brethren, killed an innocent, and now he has taken Maya. He could
just as easily have come after you.

I’m sorry, Father. I don’t know
what else to say. I did not know. I sensed something familiar yet foreign when
I first arrived, but it didn’t make any sense. How could there be a silver
dragon aware on earth?

A good question and the Stones have
been abysmally silent on an answer. But he is here and has been all this time.
It’s the betrayer.

That’s impossible!
Talon cried.
My granddam, your mother destroyed him.

Apparently not.

     
Draakar’s anger and worry, at least
for his son, dimmed as his eyes stopped glowing. Draakar welcomed Talon’s silence,
unable to bring himself to raise a discussion about the death of Talon’s
mother. Talon would have felt the loss of his mother’s link, and already know
of her death. Draakar would wait for Talon to raise the subject of his mother.
The devil lay in the details though.

     
The car pulled
away from the curb, heading past the campus’ entrance back onto a main road.
The other occupants in the car had not been privy to the mental conversation
between father and son. Draakar opened up the mind link so everyone could hear
and introduced Talon.

     
This is Talon, my son. Talon these are our
Firsts. Robert is driving and that’s James next to him.

    
Robert only glanced at him through the
rearview mirror and said hello. James twisted around in his seat and stuck his
hand out to shake Talon’s. “Good to meet you at last, laddie.”

     
“Good to meet
you also.” Talon spoke since James had spoken verbally to him “Communicating
like this is interesting. I’m enjoying using my vocal skills.”

     
“Well, where do
we go from here?”
 
Robert asked.

     
Talon looked at
his father. “I believe she’s somewhere in the Blue Ridge Mountains, maybe close
to the Shenandoah. At least that’s where she was the last time I felt her.”

    
What?
Draakar sent.
What do you mean ‘when you last felt her?’

     
I have not been able to track her for some
time now, but I know where she was before I lost her. I can take us there.
He
seemed to hesitate before he continued.
I
could feel her anger, Father, and her fear.

     
Silently, Draakar contemplated
what Talon just told him. Anger at himself and fear for Maya ate at him. He’d
left her alone and she didn’t know how to harness her full powers yet. He still
had much to teach her. Draakar regretted with each breath he took he had not
immediately bonded completely with her. If he had, he would have been able to
teleport; her life energy would have drawn him directly to her or in the right
vicinity. At least now he had some direction. That combined with the
information Mother Earth had at last given him would help him locate her. The
betrayer no longer walked on Terra, which meant Maya may not be on Earth
either. They weren’t on Akgon; the betrayer was banned from entering the Circle
of Stones to access the portal. Even if by some chance he did, he didn’t have
the power to open the gate.

      
I think the bastard may have found a portal
to another realm. That’s the only explanation I can think of why we cannot
locate his life energy here and why we thought him dead. He’s got a bolthole
somewhere, and probably using powers he’s acquired from another realm. Maya may
no longer be on Earth, which is why Mother Earth can’t locate her either,
Draakar
sent to everyone.

     
Father, how will we be able to find
Maya if she’s in another realm? I’m assuming it’s not Akgon.

      
Draakar looked over at his
son, at eyes so much like his own and coloring so like his mother’s.
Not you son. You only go as far as the
portal, when we find it. The rest of us will cross over.

    
But Father—
Talon began to
protest, however, Draagar merely stared him down using his power as Dragon
Lord, his eyes glowing with emerald fire so Talon understood he would not
change his father’s mind. Talon sighed.
Very
well. I guess I’ve caused enough trouble. I’ll wait for you.

     
Beggin ya pardon, Lord,
James
sent,
but how could Maya be in another
realm? I thought the Stones where the only gateway, and that a lot of powerful
magicks was needed to open the gate?

     
There are many rips or tears in the
fabric of space. These are places where dimensions can overlap or provide a
connection to another realm. Powerful magicks can expand that rip, creating a
portal or gateway between these worlds. Some portals, like the Stones, are
gateways to many different realms. On Akgon long ago, before the first brethren
came to Earth, we used lesser realms as places of banishment, but so rarely
most don’t have a memory of it. It was something only the dragon lords
controlled. I am only aware of two portals accessible from Earth but it is
possible there are more. I think a lesser dimension is where the betrayer is
holding Maya, and where he has been hiding.

    
Well how will we find him?
Robert
asked.

     
If Talon can get us near where Maya was last
on Earth, I should be able to locate the portal, and then I can open it.

     
Everyone remained quiet for a
while, each in his own thoughts. When Talon turned to his father, he spoke to
him privately.
After we find Maya, I’m
not going back, Father.

     
I know.

     
You do?

     
Yes. I understand.

 
     
I…I
have to find her. I know she’s close, at least she was, but I will find her.

    
Draakar debated whether or not to say
anything to Talon about the child at the airport. He decided not to for now,
unsure what it all meant. The girl was clearly a silver dragon, yet there had
never been a female silver dragon in brethren memory. The Earth magicks had
changed the old rules of power. He wanted to make sure no betrayer blood ran in
her line. Even if she were of his line, he wouldn’t know for sure until she got
older if she would turn out like him. For now she carried no hint of the taint
of chaos. Until she matured he would wait and watch, so he said nothing.

     
Meanwhile, I thought I’d get an education.

     
Draakar raised his eyebrows.
You already have knowledge beyond humans,
Talon, why would you attend university? You could teach the classes.

    
I know, but it’s one thing to have the
knowledge handed to me, it’s another to discover it on my own.

     
Draakar nodded his head.
I believe I understand that, too.

    
I want to learn for myself and since my
mate is human—at least human brethren—I want to know what it is
like to live solely as a human on Earth. I want to be able to understand the
things she has to go through so I may better understand her. Be better prepared
to help her adjust to me, to our way of life. Does that make sense?

    
Yes, as a matter of fact, it does. I’m
proud of you, son.

    
Talon’s hesitation warned Draakar he
would finally ask the question standing between them.

   
  
How did it
happen? Did she suffer?

     
Draakar sighed. Time to tell him
about his mother.

I think you know now she was not my
truemate, but I did love her and I love you.
He glanced out the window,
barely seeing the passing scenery then turned back to face his son.
You are the image of her. You have her
coloring and her features. The only thing of me in you are your eyes and
height. Maybe some of my bone structure, but you have both of our stubbornness.
She used her powers to help sustain the life energy of the brethren and when
she started to weaken, she maintained a balance by sheer will alone. Your
mother died so the brethren could survive. She sacrificed her life for us all
and all brethren honor her.

     
Draakar looked into his son’s
eyes and lied through his teeth without an ounce of remorse.
Your mother did not suffer. She died
peacefully in my arms knowing I would find you and keep you safe.

     
He gave his son
the partial truth. After Sierran exhausted her magicks, she died in great
physical pain.
No
way would
Draakar tell his son that he and Akgon had literally sucked the life energy
right out of his mother until only an empty shell remained, and finally not
even that.

    
What about Maya? Did Mother know about
Maya? Did you?

    
Thoughts of Maya raised his anguish,
and sense of urgency. He had to find her. She had to be safe; he could not
accept anything else. Draakar had let her down once; he would not do so again.
If he could take to the air he would, damn who saw him, but he had to conserve
his strength if he were to face a silver dragon. He already had to draw on the
magicks of everyone in the car to ensure they traveled as fast as possible. No
traffic lights stopped them, and they drove well beyond the speed limit. Still
it all took time.

He forced his attention back to Talon’s question.
Not at first, I did not know of her first
existence until you were born, and afterward I turned that part of myself
connected to her off.

At least he had tried to cut the connection but he never
truly succeeded. She stayed always there on the perimeter of his mind. He could
not cut himself off from the pain his truemate suffered each time she came into
the world and each time she left it. He hurt with her, powerless to ease either
of their suffering. At least he’d had Sierran and Talon; she had no one.

After you left your
mother confided to me she knew Maya existed on Earth in this time. She bade me
find her and save the brethren.

What about Maya,
how does she feel about all of this?

She felt betrayed.

Understandable.

But I think she’s
coming around.

I do like her,
Father. She helped me. She has a good soul and she’s a Dam, a powerful one.

Draakar sighed.
Yes, I know.

You haven’t claimed her yet.

No. But I will.

I have every faith in you.

And Talon, you are right to wait
for your truemate and to want to stay here to be near her.

Thank you, Father, your
understanding means a lot to me.

Robert glanced into the rearview mirror and caught Draakar’s eye. “We’re
almost at the exit for the Shenandoah National Park. There’s more than one.
Which one should I take?”

Talon answered him. “Not this first one, take the second and just keep
going through that entrance. I’ll tell you when to stop.”

They drove for miles into the park, steadily climbing in elevation past
beautiful scenery no one had time to appreciate before Talon told Robert to
pull over on a little patch of gravel on the side of the road, barely wide
enough to accommodate the car. “We have to go on foot from here.” Talon got out
of the car first, his father right behind him. “Will they be able to keep up?”
he asked his sire.