DragonsHeart.wps (25 page)

“Where did you come from?”

“From the mists of time.” He turned around again locking gazes with her. “You have your mother’s eyes, and yet, you are not her mirror image.”

“I realize that. No one could ever hope to attain my mother’s beauty. No one save for her sister, Andromeda.”

“Indeed.” He stepped to the side. “Another magic one approaches.”

“That would be my mother. Boy, is she going to be at a loss for words when she sets eyes on you—you and your brother are legend.”

“Legend?” He smiled. “My brother would like that far more than me. I never

aspired for greatness. I only sought to live my life, but after so many disappointments, I had to retreat to my own sort of seclusion.”

Another ray of magical light flashed through the room. Grania closed her eyes.

“I’m going to have to get myself a pair of shades at this rate,” she grumbled.

Dylan’s mother emerged breathless and seemingly worried sick. As she

solidified, she pinned her piercing gaze on Dylan.

“You went against my strict instructions, my son,” she chastised angrily.

“I’ve done it before, so you shouldn’t exactly be surprised,” Dylan said easily.

She pursed her lips, giving him a glare. “I see that you’re still in one piece, so I’ll DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170

save my lecture. Grania.” She nodded curtly to her in greeting. Something flickered across Aine’s face. Slowly, her head swiveled to the side to meet Merdwyn’s gaze.

Her jaw dropped, her eyes filled with stunned disbelief. When she finally tried to speak, no sound came out. Now, Aine reminded her distinctly of Dylan.

“Aine, this is all my fault,” Grania murmured before she could blame Dylan.

Her head snapped toward her. “Your fault? You brought this about?” She

pointed at Merdwyn. “Dylan, is this true?”

“Yes, mother.”

“Then, I am in your debt … you have my gratitude, daughter. We will need Lord Merdwyn’s help in the coming battles. Your father has arrived with all of his dark minions. We had hoped he would remain on Dragonia, but we underestimated his hunger to control Earth. I knew only seconds before Dylan contacted me. This is grave news for us. We were just about to foolishly take the Queen and the Prime Minister out of hiding.

We almost played right into Draco’s hands.”

“What will you do now, Mother?”

“We will ready ourselves for the first battle. I’m certain your father will want to make the first strike against us. I’m anticipating him to hit London next. Are you quite certain that this cottage is safe from him?”

“It’s as safe as any of your protected areas,” Grania said grimly.

Aine nodded. “Good. Excellent news. We shall be able to keep eyes and ears

here to monitor movement up on the hill.”

“We’ll be coming with you of course.” She was surprised that Dylan sounded so

adamant. Merdwyn started to wander around her bedroom, inspecting different items on his way.

“I’d thank you to stop handling my personal stuff.”

He smiled at her. “You have the same stubborn will as your mother. I’m glad to see it. She wouldn’t have allowed me to be nosy like this either.” His eyes sparkled with animation. “I will of course wish to leave the confines of this cottage as soon as possible.

I smell dark magic brewing on the horizon. If there’s a battle to take place, I wish to be in the front lines.”

“Your lordship, we will be forever grateful to you for your assistance.”

“Oh, please, Aine. You mustn’t act so in awe of me. I am your relation after all.

You are my sister Ann’s child.”

“I hadn’t realized that you would remember.”

“My brother and I might have shrouded ourselves away in secrecy, but we still

keep our ears to the ground so to speak. We have been monitoring the last one thousand years carefully.”

“How carefully?”

“Enough to know that I had to answer that summon.” His eyes dropped to the

bow Grania still held in her hand. “That will serve you well in the coming struggles.

You shouldn’t be afraid to use it. If you are truly Polaris’s daughter the arrows will not harm you. I bewitched it to save the blood of my love.”

“Well, there you go, Dylan. I don’t have to worry about wielding the bow and

arrows, for they can’t harm me. The wonders of magic never cease to amaze me.” She smiled.

Aine was suspiciously silent. “I recognize that bow and the quiver. We have one DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170

almost exactly like it in the archives section of the agency.”

“Robin’s bow.” Merdwyn nodded. “Aye. I gave him that, as well. Many years

after this one was created. I sense that the weapon has not been used in more than one thousand years. Polaris truly did renege on everything that she formerly stood for once she married that pig.”

Dry mouthed, she looked back toward the window. The sky darkened. Whispers

carried through the trees to her keen hearing. Her heart froze, when she heard one plea.

“
Help me
.”

She recognized the voice. “We have to figure out a way to get to Dragonia. My father might be here on Earth, but right now, someone on Dragonia is in great need of our assistance.”

“Dragonia?” Merdwyn inclined his head. “Created by my magic, and torn

asunder by your father’s own dark sorcery.” His eyes narrowed to dangerous slits.

“The dragon shifter Royal Family created Dragonia for our people,” Grania

insisted.

“You are mistaken. And history shall be forgotten.” Merdwyn sighed.

“Obviously, the bow was intelligent enough to realize that I was the only one to render you the sort of help and insight you need. Magical creations are endowed with the most intelligent enchantments, especially when I’m the one enchanting them.”

“Why would you have created Dragonia? You are a wizard, you have no link to

the dragon shifter world … or at least you don’t now .…”

“I made it for your mother and me. When she turned away from me, I gave it to her as my one last parting gift. I had hoped it would be a token of my love for her for many years. Instead it burns as we speak, and your sire is slowly destroying the goodness it once held. I will not have my creation be molded into his vision of evil.”

“You were angry with her for betraying you.” Her voice dropped to a low

whisper. She watched his face undergo a multitude of emotional storms. He could deny that he missed her mother, but the truth was written as plain as day across his face. He had loved her mother as much as she loved Dylan.

“She never betrayed me. She broke my heart by following what she thought was

her destiny. I told her that the path she was choosing would only bring her grief--she wouldn’t hear of it. To say that we parted ways, as enemies, would be a lie. I disliked her for following a fleeting dream. I told her she could not change what Draco was. I tried to make her see the truth. She would not be dissuaded. Like you, she had a heart full of love, but she also had a backbone of steel when it came to going after what she believed was the right course. She followed the path of her stars … only to discover in the end, that I was right. I wish I could have saved her, but by the time I arrived it was too late for her.” A catch entered his deep voice. Her heart went out to him. He would have made a much better father than Draco. This man had pure love welled inside of his soul.

“You saw her in her final moments? But you acted as if you were unaware of her death. I don’t understand, I’d like you to clarify things for me.” She couldn’t believe what his words had belied to her. She’d always been deeply angry with herself for not being with her mother when she’d breathed her final breath. It was a regret that would plague her until she too drew her own last breath.

The room became disturbingly still.

DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170

“You do not need to hear about her last moments of life, Grania. It would only bring you heartache like no other. Trust me, you should rest easy in knowing that your mother died with hope in her heart ... the hope that you would set everything right. She knew you were the only person that could do it. She had faith in you. She might have turned away from us, but in doing so, she created you. She did not regret that part of her union with Draco. I assure you of that. She loved you, she would have done anything in her power to help you, and she did. Her actions have led you to Dylan. Her spirit is happy with that outcome. She rejoices in your love for Dylan. It eases her doubts about not loving me when she had the chance. The fates are trying to set in motion what was always to be—our family lines were always meant to intersect—it is destiny. You can run from your destiny but in the end, destiny will always find you.”

“You see her in her spirit form?”

“She visits me. She is at rest, she is no wandering spirit. Heaven is her

playground.”

“Right then, I don’t want to interrupt the touching exchange going on between the two of you, but we do not have any time to spare. We are fortifying the cities for possible attacks.” Aine’s voice was soft signifying that she truly didn’t want to interrupt, but she didn’t have a choice. Time waited for no one—not dragon shifter or magic kind.

“He will hit London first, and once it is ransacked to the ground he will then turn his attention to the other major cities.” Merdwyn’s voice carried deep sorrow. “The coming days and especially the nights will be dark. I hope your troops are prepared for many sleepless hours.”

“They are ready. They will stand with honor against Draco’s forces and they will not relent no matter what he throws in their path.” Aine’s eyes lit with true conviction.

“The two of you need to get to Dragonia. Merdwyn, I trust that you can conjure a stable portal to the realm? Since you did create it, you no doubt know all of the ins and outs.”

“Indeed.” Merdwyn settled his brown eyes on Dylan and her. “You will be

walking into the lair of the enemy. Tread lightly, for danger abounds in Dragonia.

Everything is no longer as it once seemed.” His eyes flashed her way. She shivered beneath his penetrating, almost probing stare.

“I will be walking into my land, the land I know perhaps even better than Earth. I shall not walk into any trap that might be waiting for me.”

“May fortune be with the two of you. You need only use the bow to summon me

again. When you do, I will open another portal for you to carry you safely back to here.”

“Thank you, Merdwyn.” She lowered her head to him in silent gratitude.

“Now, let us not dilly dally much longer.” Merdwyn whispered a soft incantation and a whirling bright tunnel opened for them. It made her feel slightly seasick.

“Well, that’s certainly much different from most of the portals I’ve used before.

I’m usually walking through flame as opposed to what looks like a whirlpool!”

“You will have an easy journey.”

“Godspeed.” Aine’s voice carried to her as she jumped into the portal. She felt Dylan lunge in after her.

She hit the ground hard. Her teeth rattled inside of her head. Her skin on her hands was raw from the impact. She should have worn gloves. A chill clung to the night air. The chill seeped into her bones, making her wary. Danger hovered around them, nowhere felt safe. They were in the proverbial lair of the dragon.

DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170

Dylan hurtled into the air and slowed his descent with his magic. She heard a whooshing noise as the vortex closed shut, leaving no trace that it had once been there.

“Are you okay?” Her question was lost when he studied her hands.

“Damn.” He looked at her hands, taking them in his. Something pressed against her back.

“When did you do this?” She looked back at the rucksack and then at him, giving him a glare of annoyance.

He raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “I didn’t put the rucksack on your back.

Aurora must have enchanted them to follow us on our journeys.”

“Great. I feel as if I have a monkey on my back.”

“A magical monkey, that comes bearing gifts for all occasions.” He laughed.

Darkness seeped across the rugged landscape. “I take it we’re in the country and not in the capital city? It looks as if we landed out in the boonies.”

“We’re in the country … just outside the mystical city of Tremayne.”

“Great. So, basically we
are
out in the middle of nowhere.”

“You could say that.” She buckled over, as cramps hit her in the stomach. “I

can’t breathe.” Her lungs tightened.

“Just try to relax.”

A siren sound ripped through the air. “
Help me
.” She heard the urgent voice whisper against her temple again. After that, a stabbing pain plunged into her forehead, making her wince with pain. Now was not the time for a headache.

“We have to keep forging on. I need to get to whoever is calling me. It sounds like one of the twins.”

“How? Nicholas will protect them with his dying breath.” She gave him a sharp look. “No.” Adamantly, he shook his head. “No. I won’t believe it. Nicholas is the most powerful wizard when it comes to fighting that I know. He’s one tough assed bastard. Nothing could get the better of him. Nothing!”

“Even so. Look at what the dragon shifters have done so far.”

“I get your point.” He looked wearily at the bow and quiver she had strapped to her back over the rucksack. “I still wish you’d abandon that ruddy thing.”

“And if I do, we could quite possibly be stuck here until who knows when. Your uncle is the only one that knows how to get us back. The blockades will stop us from conjuring up one. Trust me, we need this—our very survival might depend upon it.