Taste of Darkness (32 page)

Conall didn’t respond, just took the last turn onto his street, the SUV slightly fishtailing as he revved the engine. He jerked to a halt directly in front of the iron gate in front of his house. Drake was already out of the passenger side before his brother had shut off the engine.

He raced through the open gate, his heart pounding out of control. Gabriel stood in the open doorway. The male’s expression was murderous as he turned and motioned for Drake to follow.

Inside the foyer the male named Cody was sitting on the wood floor while Greer was tightening a thick, multi-layered bandage around his middle. If he’d been stabbed in the back he was already healing with a swiftness that told Drake he was old.

“What happened?” Drake asked as Conall stepped up next to him. He couldn’t scent Victoria’s blood, but soon enough he’d need to see where it was. To smell it, to track her…to save her. Because he refused to believe she was gone for good.

“I was in there.” He tilted his head in the direction of the sitting room. “I was just waiting when I scented him. I started to turn and the fucker stabbed me from behind.”

“Who?” Conall’s voice was a jagged-edged sword.

“Nevin.” Cody winced as Greer pressed her hands on either side of his back and abdomen, a soft blue glow emitting from her as she started using her healing gift.

Drake’s cousin.
The tall, blond male. If Cody was telling the truth, Drake was going to kill Nevin as soon as he got his hands on him.

Drake focused on Cody even though he wasn’t sure the male was telling the truth. For all he knew Cody was lying and was involved in all this. Unfortunately Drake didn’t know enough about his clan to know what the male’s motives could be. He might have memories of fighting with Cody when they were children, but that didn’t make the male a killer.

“You’re sure it was him?” Conall asked.

Cody nodded. “Pretty sure. I know his scent and I could almost swear I heard him say ‘I’m sorry’. But I didn’t
see
him.”

“His scent is in the bathroom along with Victoria and Keelin’s,” Lennox said. “He had to have taken them. The bathroom window’s open. It’s what set off the alarm. If I had to guess he flew north. Even if he was camouflaged it would have been difficult to conceal them if he flew over the village. North is the only direction that makes sense if he wanted to escape unseen.” Fists clenched at his sides, his body vibrating with rage, he stood off to the side with Gabriel and Rhea.

They all looked ready to wage war.

Somehow Drake shoved his beast back down. The darkness inside him wanted out but the moment he let it free he’d lose all ability to reason. He couldn’t go on a rampage. He had to remain calm and sane.

For Victoria.

He closed his eyes for a moment and all he could see was her beautiful face, her long, black hair falling softly over her shoulders, her sweet, open smile as she teased him.

She was depending on him. It was the only reason he hadn’t demanded to see the bathroom yet. He couldn’t see her blood and remain sane. Swallowing hard, Drake turned to his brother. “Why would Nevin target the females? What’s the first thing that comes to mind?”

Conall started to shake his head but let out a savage curse. “It was long ago.
Thousands
of years ago. Our mother killed Nevin’s mother—one of her sisters—because she’d gone mad. She was far beyond saving and had started killing humans. Eating them as if they were sacrifices to her. It was before we were born, but I know the story. We all do. No one blamed our mother though. It was a just kill and it grieved her to do it. It could be why he targeted Keelin. And it’s possible he was behind your disappearance.”

Drake didn’t care so much about the why of it, he just wanted to know where he’d taken the females. Because it was clear the male was guilty. Without Victoria, Drake might as well throw himself back in Hell. Because that’s what life without her would be. He looked at Cody, fighting to keep his inner dragon contained. It was growing more difficult and he knew his dragon showed in his eyes by the way Cody flinched back from him. “Where would he have taken them?”

Fear bled into the male’s gaze. “I don’t know.”

Drake couldn’t scent a lie but it was difficult to distinguish anything due to how out of control his emotions were. Right now fire burned in his throat, the need to destroy anything and everything to get to the woman he loved was a live, dark thing inside him.

As he looked at his brother, a vivid memory shattered through him like giant shards of glass slicing through his flesh. His throat tightened under the onslaught. He pressed a hand to his chest as the scene played in his mind like a movie.

Drake looked at the note his cousin had sent him. He and Cody had been fighting over something stupid again. He couldn’t even remember what this time. Drake wasn’t sure why his cousin was such an asshole sometimes but the male liked to push his buttons. Cody was a couple years older too, he should act better. At least that’s what Drake’s mom said.

Now Cody wanted to meet him. Drake would rather go play with his brother but he knew it would make his mother happy if he made things right with Cody. She always said family had to stick together.

Stripping, he took off his tunic and pants and bundled them into a tight ball before shoving them in his small pack. He went to the open window of his room in the clan’s castle and hoisted himself up to the edge.

Camouflaging himself, he tossed his pack out the window then jumped, shifting mid-air as he’d been practicing. The rush was exhilarating as it overtook him, his wings snapping out in the cool dawn air. Swooping down, he snatched his pack in his talons before it hit the grassy earth below. Then he twisted his body, angling down along the rocky ledge of the cliff that bordered one side of the clan’s castle.

His cousin wanted to meet close to the border with the Devlin clan’s land. Drake knew he wasn’t supposed to go there, but he did it anyway.

Maybe he should have told one of the warriors where he was going, but he was twelve—nearly a man—and didn’t need a chaperone everywhere he went. Besides, he’d be fine with Cody. His cousin might be a jerk sometimes, but they were family and could protect themselves.

Miles later he reached the designated clearing. The big lake he and Cody liked to play in glistened under the rising sun, calm and beautiful. The sight always made him happy. It was early and no one was around. Not even Cody.

Unless he’d cloaked himself too.

Landing near the lake, Drake let his camouflage fall. He dipped his snout in the water and immediately pulled it out, giving his head a shake. Too cold for now.

Shifting back to his human form, he hurriedly dressed and looked around the clearing. Dew shimmered over the grass like shiny jewels and he loved the feel of it under his feet.

The sound of wings flapping behind him made him turn. Less than a moment later a giant dragon appeared. Not Cody. He and his cousin were about the size of adult rhinos and this male was huge, like his dad.

Drake smiled when he realized it was Nevin, his other cousin. Nevin was at least a decade older than him and Cody but sometimes played with them. He was handsome, according to pretty much every female, and Drake’s mother said he had a natural charm that would land him a good mate soon.

Drake didn’t know why anyone would want to mate, but his mother assured him he would understand one day. He frowned as Nevin reared up and swatted at Drake with his paw.

On instinct, he ducked and rolled out of the way as alarm punched through him. What was happening? Confusion made him hesitate and he wasn’t fast enough. Nevin’s talons sliced through his back as he flew through the air, landing with a thud twenty feet away.

His ears rang and pain shot through him but he shook it off and shoved to his feet. That was when he noticed a strange female on the dragon’s back. She wasn’t part of the clan. There was a strange energy hovering around her, her dark aura setting off alarms in Drake’s head.

Something was wrong. So very wrong. He needed to run.

Without thinking he shifted forms, the abrupt change shocking to his system as his dragon took over in a ripple of sensation. Nothing mattered other than getting away.

He didn’t know why Nevin wanted to hurt him, but his predator side screeched at him to flee. His heart pounded wildly as he took to the air. Another surge of panic slammed through him, making his flight clumsy. His cousin breathed fire at him so he banked right, planning to dip behind Nevin who still hadn’t moved from the ground.

As he did, the woman threw something at him. It looked like a shimmering cobweb as it flew through the air, spanning out in a snare that caught his wings.

Pain immediately erupted through his system, as if a thousand daggers had been embedded in his wings.

Screaming, he let loose a stream of fire as he fell to the ground. Before he’d even hit, he shifted back to his human form almost against his will. He had no control. As he cried out, blackness swept through his system like a wave, dragging him into unconsciousness.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but when he opened his eyes he was naked and chained to an altar of sorts, his arms above his head and his ankles strapped down. Dripping water sounded somewhere in the distance and candles flickered everywhere. Based on the damp smell he was in a cave, he was sure of it. He blinked slowly, trying to get more of his bearings as a dull throb ached through his entire body.

Poison.

He’d been poisoned. Maybe from the weird cobwebbed net. It must have been spelled.

Full blown panic raged through him, the shot of adrenaline welcome, but he couldn’t speak, couldn’t summon the strength to try to break his bonds. He tried to open his mouth, but nothing would come out.

“Ah, you’re awake precious boy.” A sickly sweet female voice spoke somewhere to his left.

Drake turned his head and saw the same woman from before striding toward him. She had on a thick-looking purple robe with the hood pushed back. Her dark brown hair fell around her face in ropes that looked like snakes. He blinked, wondering if he’d imagined it, but it was still the same creepy sight when he opened his eyes again. His heart hammered against his ribs.

“I’m truly sorry you’ll be awake for this, but maybe it is best.” She lifted one of her hands, revealing a dagger as she glided toward him with a graceful gait that seemed almost inhuman.

But she was human. He could sense it. Confusion filtered through his pain. “You’re human,” he rasped out, surprised his voice worked.

“I am.” She smiled, her eyes like dark endless pools of blackness, sending a shudder through him. “And you are going to give me so much power.”

At that she smoothly slid the blade deep into his abdomen, smiling evilly as she did. Agony burst inside him, a starburst of colors exploding in his line of vision as he watched blood drip off his stomach onto the slab altar under him.

When he struggled against the chains, she laughed, the harsh sound echoing around the cave. Forcing himself under control, he stilled, knowing he wouldn’t be able to break the chains. Not until the poison had worn off. Unfortunately he didn’t know if he would have enough time.

He was young, but he wasn’t stupid. There weren’t many reasons to capture a dragon shifter and it didn’t take long to figure out that this crazy female probably wanted to open a Hell Gate.

His throat clogged with tears and he prayed for his mom and dad to find them. His dad was more vicious but his mom was a better hunter. There was no one as good as her. She had to find him. Had to save him.

His tears dried as he scented his cousin Nevin nearby. He didn’t have much mobility so he couldn’t look around. “Nevin?” Drake called out, his voice raspy. He didn’t understand why his cousin was here, why he would do this to him.

Boot steps echoed around the cave and a moment later his cousin stepped into his line of sight, sidling up to the woman who was now licking the bloody blade. Revulsion tore through Drake, dulling some of his pain.

“Why are you doing this?” he croaked, unable to comprehend why his cousin would hurt him.

Nevin’s greenish-gray eyes darkened, his face twisting into a mottled rage Drake had never seen on anyone before. “Because your mother killed mine. Now I’m taking what matters to her most.”

“But…we’re family.” His voice broke on the last word, the betrayal slicing through him bone deep.

“You’re no family of mine,” Nevin snarled. “And you’re going to suffer far more than my mother did before she died. An eternity in Hell.”

Drake blinked as the memory faded as fast as it had come. Seconds had passed though it felt like an eternity. He focused on his brother. “We should keep him secure while we search for the females.” After what he’d just remembered Drake was ninety percent certain Cody wasn’t involved, but he still wanted the male locked down. When Conall nodded he continued. “How fast can we get a search party together?” Without knowing Nevin’s goal it was impossible to know where he’d gone. But the male wouldn’t be able to fly too far carrying two females.