DragonsHeart.wps (31 page)

“A risk I would welcome when it comes to your life. I won’t have you die

because of me. My father has to be stopped. I’m completely willing to die for our cause, Dylan.”

“I’m not completely willing to let you die, my love.”

“I know how he feels, Grania. I know too well, since I’ve met Brianna. The

dragon shifters Dylan accidentally killed probably had the same mindset you did. You took out some evildoers, my friend … and it’s tragic that you killed some of the ones working on our side, but this is war and you have to buck up until we’ve grasped victory.

We can’t let anything blindside us, not even your guilt. And on that note, we should get moving. We have to get out there and try to help out.” Nicholas walked toward the door.

“No … I’m going to Draco’s. I have to save my mother. I know he’s out for her blood. I’m not going to let him spill it.”

“I’m with Dylan. You can go out and join Merdwyn in the battle, but our place is with Aine.”

“Good luck you two. May fortune smile down on you tonight.” With that

blessing, Nicholas took his leave.

Her hand felt so good clasped in Dylan’s.

“You want to tell me anything else about your little trip to your father’s inner sanctum?” His question was whispered, but with the edge in his voice, he could have shouted it and wouldn’t have been any more startling.

She didn’t know how he’d known she’d been at the manor house. It didn’t

surprise her though, since their bond was growing stronger by the hour.

“I found out just how he feels about me. We’re on the same wavelength. He was going to give me back to Denys … now that definitely can’t happen. I’m going to kill my father.”

“No. You said you’d released all of his prisoners. You get my mother out when we get there. I’m going to stay behind and duel with your father until he ends up blown from here to kingdom come. It ends, now. I’ve farted around long enough watching while your father wreaks his destruction against me and mine. The spell works, you get out with my mother and I’ll be able to take care of the rest.”

“Out of the question.”

“No. You will listen to me, Grania! In this, I will not be dissuaded.”

“I told you already that I won’t listen to your orders. You don’t rule over me with an iron magical fist, Dylan.”

“I know that. But my plan is better. I stay behind. I take out your father and as many of his followers as I can. Presto Gizmo and everything is honky dory.”

She stopped, yanking him back with her. “Is that really what you want to do?”

He nodded. “Then, you will be known as the scourge that saved my people, your people and humanity. I think I like it.” She was careful to not give him her pledge to leave with his mother. She was going to stay with him until the end. She knew that he faced great odds in getting out of the battle with her father alive. He was probably thinking he’d cast the spell if it was the last thing he did, and if he was going to do his DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170

last thing ... so would she.

“I’m going to transport us there magically. We don’t have any time to lose.”

“Good idea. As always you’re full of golden ones.”

She held onto him as he snapped his fingers. The familiar jolting sensation

rippled over her, making her dizzy. She’d done far too much magical traveling in one day to last her a lifetime.

When they emerged outside of the manor house, the sight of the lands made her

blood curdle.

“And darkness will reign.” Her whispered words, made Dylan squeeze her hand.

“It’s four o’clock in the afternoon, and the sun is eclipsed. We weren’t due for an eclipse which can only mean ....”

“Dark magic, used in all of its terrible glory. Not even the moon lights our way, he’s taken out all of the objects of nature that feed white magic.”

“Indeed.” Dylan’s nostrils flared. “I can sense mother in there. We need to get to her.”

She gasped. “O’Malley is here. Can you feel him?”

He looked to the sky. “I can’t feel him, but I can
see
him.” He pointed to the dark sky.

She followed his finger. “NO! He has been swallowed up by his beastly nature

.,.. he has transformed into a demonic dragon. This is bad, the worst.”

“Demonic Dragon? I really don’t like the sound of that, my love.”

“Love isn’t anything he knows or feels anymore. He is made up of pure hatred.

There is no reasoning with him, now. I don’t even think my father will be able to control him. He has lost himself. He is only set upon a path of destruction, one of his own making. If you think my father fights dirty, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Dylan heaved a shattering breath. “I must go for my mother.”

“You can’t fight O’Malley even if you wanted to ... his power has grown too

strong. It’s all encompassing. Can’t you feel the static electricity of fallout dark magic rippling in the air?” She handed him the bow and strapped the quiver of arrows to his back. “Take this, and if the spell doesn’t work ... if he’s found a counter agent, use the arrows to kill him.”

“What about you?”

“I can handle O’Malley on my own. I’ll have to shape shift and fight him in my dragon form. It’s the only way ... fight beast with beast.”

“Are you insane? You need this more than I do ....” He tried pressing the weapon into her hands. She breathed in a large gust of air, calling upon her dragon shifter side.

She envisioned the way she looked in dragon form and felt searing pain slice through her.

Her knees were going to buckle beneath the extreme pressure. She gasped for air.

“I can’t transform. I’ve never run into this before.” She leaned on him,

discouraged by her latest discovery. “I don’t understand ....” She fell silent. Perhaps, she did have an inkling of understanding, but she wasn’t about to tell him what she suspected. He’d flip, and if she knew him as well as she did, he’d run to transport her to the other side of the world.

O’Malley had seen them. He centered his attention squarely on them. Dylan was slowly regaining his strength. He lunged toward her and pushed her to the ground. She landed with a thud. He blasted a bolt of magical energy at O’Malley. The bolt simply DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170

bounced off O’Malley and swerved right back at them.

“Oh, shit!” He covered her body with his and erected a shield. The brunt of his attack blast hit her making them both grunt with the impact. “Are you okay? I didn’t break anything did I?”

“I’m not that fragile. I’m not as delicate as you seem to think I am.” He helped her to her shaky feet. She didn’t want to show her vulnerability to him, but the events of the last few days were wearing hard on her.

“Well, I’m not as small as you think. My weight combined with my backfiring

magic … I just thought you might have been injured. In the future, I won’t jump to worrying about you.”

“I’m fine. Thank you for your concern." She smiled at him wistfully. "I’ll have to try to get an arrow to pierce him. With his dark magic, I don’t know ....”

“I thought you had your own magic,” Dylan said.

“Dragon shifters have magic, aye, but we don’t readily use it, nor is it as

formidable as the magic you wield.”

“You have to tap into it now … we’ll merge our powers, and when we do, we

might just be able to destroy him. If we don’t stop him now, Earth won’t even have a hope.”

“I agree. Give me your hand, I don’t know how great of an idea this is since no dragon shifter and wizard have ever merged their powers before. What if we create some sort of combustion?”

“As long as it affects O’Malley, I don’t see a problem with that.” He flashed her a weak yet still cheeky grin.

Closing her eyes, she drew on her magic, the untapped source took a while to call forth.

Finally, she felt her fingertips start to warm. He felt it too, for his hand twitched beneath hers. “I’m getting stoked.”

She smiled at his pun. The air almost crackled around them. She could smell the scent of dragon shifter magic. She hadn’t lost her touch after all. Her power was coalescing around them. A reddish bubble formed around them.

“Now it’s my turn.” She watched as he called upon his own magic. Blue energy

mingled with red magic energy.

O’Malley’s animalistic dragon roar literally shook the ground. She shivered.

“Let’s hope this is enough to make him stagger long enough for me to use an

arrow on him.

“It might not come to that, if we’re lucky our magic just might take him out.”

“I wouldn’t count on that, but I’ll hold onto that hope for your sake.”

“Fire! Now!” Dylan ordered. They merged minds, their magic blasted forth in a huge stream. It connected with O’Malley. He let out a scream, which made her ears feel like they were going to bleed.

“This is it!” she shouted.

O’Malley staggered. His wings gave way, and started plummeting to the ground.

She had to act now or they just might not get a second chance.

The arrow zoomed toward him. It hit him in his thick hide. He let out another scream. A fireball the size of a car flew out of his mouth and arced toward them.

She stepped in front of Dylan. Her magic whirled around them. As the fireball DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170

drew near her ice fire magic wrapped around it freezing it. The large ice ball landed harmlessly at her feet.

“Do you think we could use this to make a grand entrance?” she asked.

He smiled. Her stomach twisted at O’Malley’s final agonized shriek.

“What I don’t understand is how he broke out of the cell your kind had him in.”

“During the chaos, I’m certain someone could have been lax in their

guardianship,” Dylan groaned

“They should be slapped silly for making such a mistake.”

“You corrected their mistake, so I see no reason to hunt down the person

responsible.”

“Unless ... unless, that person is one of my father’s spies.”

Dylan raised his eyebrow at her. “I ... our protective enchantments would stop anything like that from happening.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure in light of certain events. We’ve found out that my father’s mastery over the craft far surpassed what we dreamed.”

“You might be right. We can’t do anything about that though until we rescue my mother.”

He started to walk toward the manor house.

“Wait.” She pulled back on his arm. “I can’t let you go any further.”

“You can’t?” He gave her a perplexed look. “I don’t know what you’re talking

about. This is war ... we’re about to end it.”

“Or not.”

“What?”

“This smells fishy. I think my father is leading you into a trap. One that you won’t be able to escape from.”

“I have you—working together we can do anything.”

“No. We have to return to where your father is and be debriefed. Walking into my father’s lair is pure folly.”

“You walked into his lair ....”

“I did. And I got really lucky. I was able to get out again unscathed. But my father has other plans for you. He thinks your mother is his trump card. It must have been her magic that released O’Malley. Who knows what else he’ll get her to do? Or

....”

His eyes narrowed at her. “Don’t even think about it. I won’t hear you telling me that my mother is a traitor. She is the most loyal witch magic kind has ever known. She is our Queen for Heaven's Sake!”

“What if she’s been bedazzled?”

DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170

He drew in a lengthy breath. “I don’t like hearing that my mother could have fallen prey to your father’s mind games. However, I see your point. I rail against agreeing with you, but if you think it’s wise to return to headquarters then, I will humor you.”

“Humor me?” She stepped backward. The cynical tone in his voice was like a

physical slap in the face.

She swallowed, hard. “I guess we’re going to have to get used to this. You

always seem to push my buttons, and in return I push yours.” She sighed. “Open a portal, and we’ll return to Cheltenham.”

He pulled out his wand, and in one flicker a portal was conjured. She walked

through it pulling him behind her.

They emerged into a scene much like the one that had surrounded her manor

house.

“I want the sun back.” She let out a frustrated sigh.

“I do, too.” He searched the immediate area. “I took us right to where the

building should emerge .…” Sighing, he scanned the streets around him.

“This place looks like a ghost town. What are we going to do, Dylan?”

“First we get out of the elements.” He held his wand aloft. She could hear him muttering something in a low tone. A light flashed and then the same building emerged out of nowhere.

The door slid open.

“Welcome back.” Aurora stood waiting for them, almost as if she’d expected

them to arrive at this precise moment.

“How goes the fight?” Dylan asked, heaving another sigh. She could feel his

worry for his mother emanating off him, and it unsettled her considerably. She didn’t like seeing Dylan so distressed.

“It goes. Which is better than what I could have reported one hour ago. The

prisoners you released along with Merdwyn have helped us by far. But in the last few hours, we have lost a lot. Your mother, and as you already know, O’Malley. Her magic released him, and almost broke the concealment enchantment on this building. If I had not been standing vigil, I shudder to think of what would have happened.”

He sighed with relief. “Thank you, Aurora.”

“It is my job. Your mother will come round in time. Whatever mind spell Draco has her under will eventually fade as long as she keeps fighting.”