DragonsHeart.wps (12 page)

voice started fading away.

“Why in Cheltenham, since you asked so nicely. It’s a secret location. Take my hand, and come fly with me. I won’t be taking you to the moon, unfortunately, you can’t have everything. Course, you’ll simply have to come with me to attend Madame

Giselle’s Beltane Celebration on the moon. She really knows how to throw one hell of a swell bash.”

“That sounds just divine.” She chuckled. She couldn’t imagine the type of world he lived in, though she had a pretty good feeling she was going to find out. “My people were right when they said your main reason for using the craft was for the pure enjoyment of frippery and frills.”

“Ah, you wound me, right down to the core. You make us sound like shallow

little good for nothings. I warrant that you’re not half off the mark when it comes to some of us, while the rest of us work and struggle for the betterment of our kind and for this world. We will not fail Earth.”

“Even when it failed you.”

“That sounds like a statement of anti-Dragonian sentiment.”

“Don’t be absurd.”

“But still, I know you have your doubts.”

“I don’t have my doubts. Not now. I think that our kind missed the mark when it came to fighting for what mattered. We left this world with our dragon shifting tails between our legs. We shouldn’t have given in so easily. Once we went into total seclusion on Dragonia, this world fell into an age of darkness where they burned people at the stake and committed other unthinkable acts of cruelty against each other. They were barbaric and heartless. The world went to the devil while they said they acted in the name of God!”

“And for that you think Earth should pay?”

“No. Never. Not in the way my father would have them pay. No, I would never think to sentence anyone to that fate. Even now, while half of this world is in chaos?

No. It isn’t the right thing to do.”

“And you always believe in walking the good path, don’t you?”

“Even if it means sacrificing my own happiness. Aye.”

He gave her a silent look of approval. “Let’s go. We are wasting time, and right now, we have precious little as it is.”

“What do you think will happen if Draco succeeds in breaching the blockades put around Earth?” she asked softly.

“Do you think that will happen?”

“My father is cunning and swift when it comes to implementing any of his plans.

If he knows of a way to breach the shields Blaze and my fellow Royalists are erecting as we speak, then, yes, I think it will happen. We are only waiting for the inevitable.”

“God help us, then.” With that, he took her hand, opened a portal, and her next words were lost as the portal sucked them in taking them to their destination.

DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170

She’d been expecting a bumpy ride, and instead, the ride through his magical tunnel went smoothly.

“That was a refreshing change,” she mused, giving him a smile.

He looked over at her perplexed. “Ah, yes, no doubt you had a rough time of it when you used the dragon mark to carry you to my side. I’m sorry.” They stood outside a large building in Cheltenham. People passed them on the street, and some men and women walked past them into the building they stood in front of. It was by far the most modern building on the street.

A light rain drizzled down around them. Fortunately, she now wore a raincoat.

“Nice change.”

“Well, when we set off we both weren’t dressed, so I made a few improvements.”

He was right. She’d been so rattled earlier at the prospect of their lovemaking, and then by Nicholas' update that she’d completely forgotten she was still in her nightgown when she’d more or less ordered Dylan to take them to headquarters right away.

“Thanks for noticing that.”

“Well, I can’t exactly show up in front of my mum at her place of business

wearing nothing but my boxer shorts. Could you see her reaction? Her eyes would fall clear out of her head!”

He laughed, and she followed. “The day is dismal isn’t it? It feels like a

foreboding of sorts.”

“We’ll have sunny weather again soon. Hey, it’s England, the weather here is

known to change at the drop of a hat.”

“If my kind does invade, it will be changing on the hour, most likely. With our temperaments and our control over the elements ....”

“Let’s not dwell on that sordid thought right now. We should get a move on, get past security and onto where O’Malley is kept.”

He held open the door for her and ushered her inside. They stepped into a

tastefully decorated lobby. Two secretaries sat in front of them. The one desk was immaculate. The other desk had a candle, a quill pen, and what looked to be a wand sitting on it. She noticed the other secretary wore a tailored designer suit, while the other secretary wore an Empire waist dress. She didn’t need Dylan to tell her that the one was human, and the other one was a witch.

“Master Lightfoot! How good to see you again! I see you’ve brought along your new bodyguard. Excellent. Your mother is waiting for you. We just need you to take the necessary security precautions and then, you’re on your way!”

A console appeared out of thin air. A light started to flicker on it, and then, it took what appeared to be Dylan’s picture.

An old wheezy voice shot out of the console. “
Identity: Master Lord Dylan

Lightfoot. Wizard: First Class. Hails from the ancestral families of Lightfoot, Fairborn,
DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170

Le Fay, and Wynn among other less dignified families. Security clearance: Alpha.
”

While the console spoke, a physical representation of Dylan appeared along with the many colors that represented his aura.

“Nice. I can’t wait to see what it’s going to say about me,” she muttered, eyeing the device with distaste.

“I’m getting to you, Mistress Burns.”

She gasped. “Is there a person behind that?”

“What do you think? We don’t use computers like our mortal counterparts do.

Now, smile for my wand .…”

In the next instant, the same bright light that had surrounded Dylan also engulfed her. Two images of her appeared in front of her. The first image was of her in her human form, while the other image was of her dragon shifter form.

“You are beautiful when you’re a dragon.” He looked in awe. “I’ve never seen a white dragon with a red mane before .…”

“We are rare.” She smiled at him. “You’ll see me in living color the next time I have to shift.”

“Don’t be thinking of doing that in here, we have strict rules against shape

shifting while in these buildings.” The voice rasped, then wheezed, then whoever belonged to the voice started to cough. It was a hacking, grating sound. “Now, where was I? Ah, yes.
Identity: Lady Grania Burns. Dragon Shape Shifter: First Class.

Security clearance: Nonexistent, given guest clearance. Hails from the ancestral line of
Burns, Pendragon, Augustus, and the Royal Ruling Houses of Dragonia, Gemini and
Dionysus. Daughter of: Lord Draco Burns, our enemy and Princess Polaris, deceased.Ó

She drew in a sharp breath at the last word. Her stomach churned.

“Pendragon, eh? Impressive.” He gave her a cheeky smile. As always, he was

trying to make light of a very serious situation. She was going to spend the rest of her life with a man that her father wanted dead. In fact, she didn’t think he’d ever give up until one of them was dead.

“You may pass into the restricted zone.” The woman coughed again, and then sighed. “This Earthly air, really grates on my lungs, especially at this time of the year, the pollens and pollution are hell. You all have a blessed day.”

“Thanks, Delilah. Give my regards to Alf.”

“I will, Dylan. Have a good day.” Her voice suddenly turned syrupy sweet; all trace of the wheeze was gone.

“Well, that’s not much for security.” A door appeared in front of them. A door that had nothing behind it and only them in front of it. “You’re kidding right, what do you do if a mortal comes in here?”

“Most of the mortals that work here, know about our organization. Don’t worry about it.”

“So that door behind the human secretary …?”

“That leads to their part of the building. Ours is cloaked.”

“Huh. You learn something everyday. Why are you sharing so many of your

secrets with me? We dragon shifters have never had any spies in your world, but you have had them in our world for quite some time, I’d imagine. It’s almost as if we’ve had big brother watching us.”

“I can’t help it that my kind became so proactive after our last defeat at the hands DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170

of the dragon shifters. We aren’t going to make that mistake again.”

“You aren’t? How can you be so sure that you’ll win?”

“I’ll show you. Take my hand and walk through the door.”

* * * *

“I know. It does get into your bones. With all of the magical people inside of this building it’s a wonder outsiders don’t feel it. But for many years we have been here in secrecy. Helping when we can, fighting when we need to.”

“Why do you know so much?”

“My mother and father have dedicated their lives to this cause. There was a time when I was young when my parents were so busy here, that my aunts and uncles were always taking care of me, watching over me, helping me with my magic. That’s probably why I took such an interest in taking up where my uncle left off. Someone had to take up the torch. That and my mother came home one day with intelligence on your father telling us that he was going to try this. The second sighters were right.”

“And now, we wait until they come to Earth.”

A group of men and women bustled toward them. The woman in the lead was his

mother.

“Come, Dylan. You and your ... Mistress Grania, you will go with Amelia here, and you will see what can be done about Master O’Malley. We have had our best telepaths trying to breach the walls erected in his mind, but they’ve been unsuccessful.

You need to fix that, Grania. We know how talented you are at the mind reading bit between your kind. We have had the reports.”

“Good. I’m sure you know just as much about my life as I do. Why don’t you

give me some more shiny little tidbits you’ve gleaned through your spies?”

“I understand your confusion, Grania. We were only doing what we deemed

right. It would seem that keeping tabs on you and your father wasn’t such a foolish thing to do in the first place.”

She remained silent. To say something would only make things worse for Dylan.

His mother wasn’t the most maternal woman on the face of the planet, and now she knew why. Her true child
was
her career.

“Call me impressed.” She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. “But you still

haven’t shown me the
piece de resistance
, I’d like to see O’Malley.”

“Of course. No need for a tour of the place anyway. The less you know, the

better.”

“Mother!” Dylan sounded horrified.

“I’m only watching out for her best interests. If she were ever taken by the enemy while working to protect you, it would not bode well for us, if she were able to give them unneeded Intel.”

“Yes, your mother is only looking out for me, while she secretly hopes that I will fall into enemy hands.”

“On the contrary. I would like to solidify your relationship with my son. We’ve been researching your culture. You don’t kill the members of your own family, even in the name of war.”

DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170

“Times, they are a changing.” She snorted. “If you honestly believe linking

Dylan and I together by way of marriage will deter my father from killing him ... well, you are mistaken.”

“I don’t think I am. And Dylan can vouch for the fact that I’m usually right.”

“It’s true.” Dylan lowered his voice to a whisper. “It’s freaky, but true. You don’t want to mess with my mum when it comes to being right. I’ve tried—and lost.”

“Great. I’m not going to be a blushing bride, Dylan. I know people tend to tie the knot during times of war and all that, be that as it may, I’m not really ready to be hitched, yet.”

“You will be soon. I’m sure mother dearest already has an entire wedding party all dolled up and waiting for the wedding march.”

“Fine. Can we please get to fixing up O’Malley first? Ordinarily, I’d try to fight this whole wedding thing. I’m not. I will marry you if only to help me achieve my objective.”

“Your objective?”

“I’ve been trusted with protecting you. If, for some stroke of luck you being bonded to me makes my father spare your life ... then, I’ll take the gamble. It might be a fluke but it’s worth shooting for.”

“Stranger things have happened." His eyes softened, and the look he gave her made her heartbeat quicken.

“I’m wearing red for the wedding per my people’s tradition.”

“My mother probably has a white dress waiting for you—but hey, I’m sure she

can change the color in the blink of an eye.”

Amelia stepped forward, as Dylan’s mother moved away. “Does your mother

have a name?” Grania asked.

“You may call me, Aine.”

“Thank you, Aine.”

His mother narrowed her eyes at her, paused for a moment and then, moved away.

“I still don’t think she likes me,” Grania whispered.

“You’ll grow on her.”

“That’s what you think. If I grow on her, it will be akin to moldy cheese.” She chuckled.