Hidden Spark (Dark Magic Enforcer Book 6) (21 page)

"You need to watch this one, Spark, this human's trouble."

"Okay, will do," I said with a sigh, really not in the mood. "What's with the lava, isn't it hot?"

"Of course it's hot, it's lava. What's wrong with you?"

"Sorry, I'm a bit out of sorts."

"Have you been bathing, too? It's so refreshing, burns away all the old skin and you come out all shiny and new. Waddya think?" Intus turned in a circle, showing off her fresh, glowing skin like a repeat of the fashion show above ground that felt like a lifetime ago.

"Very nice," I said, the others agreeing with me, just to be nice. "Um, Intus, is this, er..."

"What? Is it what?"

I didn't want to ask but I had to know, to be sure. "Is this hell? Or a hell, anyway? Some kind of demon netherworld?"

"Are you losing your marbles? Of course it's not. You haven't gone and died have you? Been naughty?"

"Er, no, I don't think so." To tell the truth, I wasn't sure any longer. Maybe we'd died and this was hell. "We haven't, have we?" I asked Kate and Mithnite.

"No," said Kate.

"Not sure," said Mithnite.

"It's a lair," said Intus, hands on hips, looking at me like I was an utter imbecile.

"A lair?"

"Yeah, you know, for that." Intus pointed up into the air, where a tiny speck of green could be seen.

"For a bird?"

"What is wrong with you today? Are you on medication?"

"No!"

"Maybe you should consider it, then. That's not a bird, it's a dragon."

"I've already been through the whole dragon thing, Intus, and it ended up being worse than a real dragon."

"I heard, the old wizard dude. We know all about him. Nasty piece of work. Came to visit once, but we sent him on his way quick smart. He wanted us to do terrible things."

I didn't ask. We'd be there all day if Intus got going with one of her stories. "Ah, right."

"Yeah, I think it was right around the time he split up with his wife, again. She'd had enough of him, all his nuttiness. Hmm, now you mention it I think she imprisoned him down here, kind of like to gloat, keep him close so he couldn't cause any trouble while she lived above ground as a human."

"What on earth are you talking about?" I was utterly confused, at a loss. Dragon's wife had locked him away in a real dragon's lair? So she could be in human form and away from him?

"You know he was married, right?"

"I've heard the stories, that they were together for millennia, but nobody ever knew her name or what she looked like, only that they were close, very close, but then she died."

"That's all nonsense. She never died. You lot don't know your own history very well, do you?"

"Intus, it was thousands and thousands of years ago. Things get twisted, written down wrong, or forgotten. There are stories, but never anything about him being locked away, or him being put in a dragon's lair."

"How do you think he got his name, then?"

I thought for a moment, mind refusing to slow down. I was panicking about us trying to get away, especially if there really was a dragon above us. Could there be? I was befuddled, finding it hard to think straight.

"Okay, Intus, maybe you can explain this to us, but quickly, as we need to get out of here." Kate spoke slowly and calmly, knowing Intus well enough that it was the best way to get answers. "So, this is a dragon's lair. A real one?"

"Yes, the only one. There's only one dragon. Or dragon shifter to be more precise."

"And are you saying that Dragon, the man, was married to it? To her?"

"Yes, I just said, didn't I?"

"And she locked him away down here?"

"Yes! Is nobody listening to me?"

"We're just a little preoccupied," said Kate, clearly beginning to lose her patience as well. "You said the man, named Dragon, got his name because of a real dragon?"

"Blimey, you lot are driving me nuts. Yes, they were the Dragon Queen and King. He married her, took her name as that's how it worked. He ended up just being called Dragon when he emerged back into the world above, where you lot usually live. That's when he became properly powerful, but they fell out pretty soon after. He'd spent forever underground with the Dragon Queen, but up above with him strong and full of magic, it didn't work out so good. So she brought him back down here after chasing him for thousands of years. She sealed him in. Thought he was still locked up to be honest." Intus shrugged, that was it.

"Okay, thanks, Intus, that explains a lot, I think. Er, got any idea how we're gonna deal with a dragon? Is she nasty or nice?"

"You have definitely lost the plot, Spark. It's a dragon, what do you think it'll be like? Oh, and her name's Delilah. Nice, isn't it?"

"Um, yeah, lovely."

And with that Intus was gone. A moment later she was back. "Forgot about the Marmite. Is it okay if I help myself?"

"Sure, if the kitchen is still there," I said, doubting it would be.

"Ta."

Delilah. Where did I know that name from? I was sure I'd heard it recently, but couldn't for the life of me remember where or when.

A loud roar up above reverberated around the chamber and an almighty crack came from behind, the sudden explosion of sound dislodging the pier from ancient footings of carved rock. A large section behind us fell away, leaving us stranded from the cavern wall.

"Guess there's only one way to go now."

We headed down to the steps carved for a dragon. A real one.

"One Small Step for Faz...

...one giant step for wizardkind."

"Will you shut up," snapped Kate, lowering herself down the step, her chest and belly now as covered in cuts and scratches as mine and Mithnite's. Blood trickled from numerous gashes, mingling with her sweat. "Stop staring at me like that. Aren't you afraid?"

"Of course, but you do look hot, in a sticky, bloody kind of way."

"Faz! That's no way to talk around Mithnite," she whispered, getting close so he wouldn't hear.

"Sorry, but you are gorgeous."

"This is hard for me, you know. All this blood. Yours, his."

My stomach cramped and I felt the worst kind of nasty. "Damn, I'm so sorry, Kate, I never even thought..."

"It's okay, normally it wouldn't affect me. But I used all my blood magic to save myself back there, and I'm hungry, so very hungry now."

"Okay, hang in there. We'll get out of here, I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," she warned.

"I will have you know that I'm Faz Pound, the Black—"

"Shut up, you dick." Kate slapped me hard on my behind, and I kissed her, trying to say more with the kiss than I could with words.

"Ugh, gross. You two should get a room," Mithnite grunted, catching us up and looking so beyond beat up he was out the other side.

"I wish. Come on, last step." I knelt at the edge, dropped myself down, landing on a welcome wide surface. I helped Kate as she lowered herself, only groping her a little. She squealed and squirmed, so I held her a little tighter, but then released her as Mithnite clambered down and we stood, three lost souls, scared and not looking forward to the next part of our descent.

We crossed the bridge, the low walls either side more reassuring than I can tell you, then stepped onto the platform, nowhere else to go but down.

The platform wasn't wide, but at least it was perfectly flat. Which made me panic that maybe it was like a landing pad for the dragon, the shifter creature that apparently had been married to Dragon the sage. What a strange relationship that must have been, and I wondered how long she'd locked him up for.

"Let's sit for a minute, I need to rest." Kate groaned as she eased herself carefully to the ground, and we did likewise.

"I'm so thirsty, hungry as well." Mithnite licked dry and cracked lips, and man I wish he hadn't mentioned water. Now I was thinking about it, too, and that was all I needed.

"We'll just go down these terrifyingly steep steps where we could drop off and to our death, spiraling around and around, and then we'll go get a nice drink, okay?" Kate put a hand to her mouth in shock. "Gosh, I'm sorry, I'm a bit stressed."

"That's okay, Kate, bet you are more thirsty than I am." He didn't know the half of it.

We sat for a few minutes, but I couldn't stop fidgeting, and I couldn't stop looking up. The green speck far above seemed to have vanished, so that was something, but it didn't mean it wouldn't be back at any moment.

And what about Dragon the man? Where was he and did he have something to do with us getting dragged down here? What other explanation was there?

Out of nowhere there was an almighty whoosh, the air violent with heat and wind, pummeling us, battering our bodies so we had to lie flat or risk being blown over the edge. The dragon shot past us and up like an arrow of green death, then circled far above.

We stood. Awed, freaked, and naked before a beast that defied belief.

"Maybe we should do some more running away?" ventured Kate.

"Good idea," I agreed, although I honestly didn't think it was. Still, it beat waiting to be incinerated. I knew none of us were up to withstanding any more fire, and that's what dragons were good at, the whole breathing fire thing.

Time to run. Again.

Run!

We stood, aghast, as the dragon flapped its wings languidly, riding high on the thermals in the cavern-cum-lair, its size impossible to appreciate, me just knowing it was damn big. And I mean BIG.

As it turned in a lazy circle, sweeping low, gliding like it was as light as a feather, it turned its head to the side and stared at us, green eyes blinking slowly, the slitted irises that of a cat. Cold, uncaring, taking us in.

I felt it peering deep into my soul, leaving me feeling utterly exposed and not because I was underdressed. No, this was more of a look inside my head, a weighing up of me as a man. Of who I was, what I was, judging me, deciding if I was worthy or not.

I felt all this, and when Kate clutched my hand tight and a moment later Mithnite did the same, their bodies trembling like the ground was moving, I knew they were experiencing the same thing.

Now I was shaking uncontrollably, all of us moving in unison as the dragon changed course and glided in ever decreasing circles until it was almost upon us.

It was as though we were glamored, unable to run, unable to do much of anything but cling helplessly to each other.

It roared, a great belch of a sound that echoed off the ramparts and the massive bridges on struts lost far below in the dark, bouncing off the ancient, oversized buildings. And then Intus' words finally made sense. This truly was the dragon's home, everything large enough to allow it to fly as it pleased or walk on monstrous, densely muscled hind legs, feet as large as a man, claws as thick as an elephant's tusk but a helluva lot sharper.

The shaking grew intense but I was sure I wasn't that scared. Yes, I was terrified, but also calm at the same time, as if I'd accepted my fate, pleased it was at least going to be with the woman I loved and that we'd go out in a suitably epic style.

I could picture it now, my welcome at the gnarly, hellish gates. "Hi, I'm Faz. Why, yes, I am the one that died whilst groping my hot vampire girlfriend, and yes, I did go down in flames battling the last remaining dragon in the world."

"Faz. Faz!" Kate tugged at my arm and pointed down. It was only then I understood why we were all shaking so much. The ground was shifting beneath our feet, cracks appearing in the rock, bits falling off and dropping into the dark depths.

The pillar began to sway, teetering first one way then the other, getting smaller and smaller as we huddled close. Then we were clutching each other tight, only a few feet left on the platform as it lurched violently. We heard rock crunch as the ground split into a thousand tiny pieces, finally crumbling.

We plunged. This was it.

"It wasn't such a bad few years, right?" I whispered into Kate's ear.

She shifted her head, the smell of her intoxicating. God how I loved this woman.

"It was the best, Faz. I wouldn't change it for the world. I love you."

"And I love you, too." I turned my head and said, "Sorry about this, Mithnite. Things are usually rough on jobs, but trust me, this is a new one, even for me."

Mithnite looked confused, like I was making a premature obituary. He couldn't shake off a daft grin, eyes so full of excitement I couldn't figure it out. Was he actually enjoying falling to his death? "Um, we're on a dragon, you know?" he squealed, brimming over with joy and utter, unabashed delight.

"Huh?" Kate and I looked down, only to find that we were indeed standing rather precariously on the back of the dragon, diving so fast our feet hardly touched the scaly surface, the transition from falling to being where we now were so subtle it was almost imperceptible. Caught up in our soppy farewell to each other we'd missed it entirely.

As the dragon beat its massive wings, larger than a ship's sails, thick leather with various tears and scars the signs of great age and many battles, we fell to our knees, holding on tight to green scales that shimmered in the strange ambient light of its lair.

Then it leveled out, coasted for a moment, before climbing higher and higher, the beating of its wings getting faster as we left the crumbling remains of a city behind us and the heat intensified, maybe because of the height, maybe because of the dragon itself.

I could feel the rumblings vibrate through its hide, a furnace burning deep inside its magical body. The noise of the wind and its body deafening, talking useless as it belched flame like a sentient flamethrower and then shrieked, telling us something, but I had no clue what.

Up and up we went, until we could see the top of the cavern, solid bedrock, not a gap in sight. Closer, closer still, until a tiny beam of light could finally be seen. We hurtled toward it, faster and faster, holding on for dear life as the dragon drew its wings in and shot for the hole.

Problem being, it was way too small an opening, about twice as wide as a person, certainly not large enough for the dragon to even get its head through.