The Imprisoned Dragon and the Witch (9 page)

Chapter 9

Ronan looked around the cavern, taking in the slight injuries of the Vampires and also noting that Serge’s Wolf was limping. “Serge, hey, you okay to change or do you need to stay Wolf?”

The large beast walked over to his mate, Kyra, nudging her gently. She seemed to know what he wanted and pulled her backpack off and took out clothing, laying two sets on the ground. Ronan watched as Serge and Drake transformed and got dressed. It didn’t pass his observation that Serge’s left leg was covered in a massive bruise.

“You okay?” Ronan asked and Serge nodded his head, though Ronan thought he looked as if he was gritting his teeth. That leg looked awful sore but Serge wasn’t going to show any weakness, it’s just who he was.

Gabe’s Wolf gave a small whine and Josef sighed. “Why don’t you come prepared like those two?” The ancient Vampire chastised as he took off his warm coat, holding it in his hands as Gabe also transformed then grabbed the coat and put it on. The garment only just covering his modesty and he was barefoot.

Esther spoke up. “I think we should just do a spell and move directly from here back to the plane. Is that okay with you, Peri? Are you strong enough after your altercation with that Witch?”

Ronan watched Peri smile before answering. “Yeah, I’m fine and that’s a good idea. I don’t want Gabe’s feet getting hurt walking on all this broken rock. Let’s go.”

Everyone gathered around, Peri and Esther taking up positions at either side, almost immediately they started the spell. Ronan held Starr’s hand as they waited on the magic to move them back to the airstrip, it happening far quicker than their previous move.
“Peri must be getting the hang of this,”
he thought as he blinked and saw they were standing at the side of the plane.

“Come on, Puff, let’s get you home.” He pulled his mate towards the plane, as Justin appeared at the door.

“I’ll get us ready for take-off. How did it go? Where’s the Dragon?” Justin looked around as Ronan answered.

“Dead. We were too late. Get us home, Justin, the quicker the better.”

Justin frowned. “Shit!” he said before disappearing back inside.

Ronan settled Starr in the first two seats available, pulling her close. “We’ll find him, baby. Don’t think we won’t. I promise we’ll find him and end him.”

Starr nodded, her head against his shoulder as Sam sat down opposite them, with Charmaine at his side. They had obviously heard him and Starr talking as Charmaine spoke up.

“You need to find him and fast. He’s got enough Dragon blood now for his plans. At least I think he does and if you don’t stop him, he’ll bring down an apocalypse on us all.”

Sam’s hand was still holding one of the young woman’s and Ronan thought,
“What the hell is going on?”
He raised an eyebrow at the woman. “What do you mean? We need specifics if we’re to do anything about it.”

Sam almost snarled. “Can’t this wait? She’s been held prisoner and God knows what has been done to her. Can’t we wait ‘til we’re home and she’s been taken care of?”

Ronan’s head turned towards his friend, his eyes pinning Sam’s. “What? Did you just question my intentions? What the fuck is wrong with you, Sam?”

Sam’s eyes were wide, his nostrils flaring as he spat out. “She’s tired, hungry and beat up! I’m sure this ‘interrogation’ can wait!”

Ronan’s anger rose to the surface. His best friend was challenging him in front of everyone! “Now you just wait a fecking minute! I’m...”

Charmaine butted in, her face looking terrified as she spoke. “Please don’t fight. I’m okay, Sam, really. I need to let you all know what’s going on and the sooner the better. I could do with some water, if you’ve got any?”

Sam’s anger seemed to vanish as worry took its place. “Water? Yeah, we have water, got some food supplies too. Hold on.”

Sam jumped up, going to the overhead locker that held supplies. With Wolves on a mission they had to be fully stocked...Wolves could win a gold medal for eating! He pulled out a bottle of water and some high energy bars together with some fruit, placing it on the table in front of Charmaine.

“Will this do?” he asked gently as Charmaine grabbed a bar, tearing the wrapper quickly and snatching a bite.

“Guess you’re hungry,” Starr said as they watched the woman devour what Sam had put in front of her.

“Oh my gosh! Fresh fruit! I’ve not had fruit in so long that I forget when it was!” Charmaine consumed everything before drinking the water, wiping her hand across her mouth when she was done.

Ronan had been so busy watching Charmaine that he hadn’t even realized they were now in the air. He watched as she raised her head, a small blush on her cheeks.

“Gosh, I’m sorry, my manners! I’ve had so little to eat for so long that I just acted like a pig!”

Sam took hold of her free hand, the other still holding the water. “Hey, don’t worry ‘bout it. I’ll get you proper food when we get home. We’ll soon have you fighting fit.”

Ronan looked closely at his friend, there seemed something different about him but he couldn’t quite grasp what it was. Starr’s words breaking his scrutiny.

“I’m sorry for the rudeness, but I’m Starr and this here is Ronan. Now, can you tell us a bit more about this Quintas guy?”

Sam appeared more relaxed now that he had given Charmaine something to eat and Ronan was pleased about that. Arguing with his best friend wasn’t something he enjoyed. Charmaine gave them a small smile before she started to talk.

“Hello, as Sam said, I’m Charmaine. I’ll start at the beginning and tell you what I know, or rather, what I’ve seen and overheard.”

Ronan nodded, listening intently as she carried on.

“My father is a Witch and he literally
gave
me to Quintas in exchange for joining the ‘inner circle’ of
Na Cúnant Dorcha
it means…”

Ronan butted in, his voice grim. “The Dark Covenant, it means The Dark Covenant.”

Charmaine looked at him, her eyes wide. “Yes, that’s exactly what it means and Quintas is their leader. He has a plan and it’s beyond scary what he wants to do.”

Ronan watched as she took a mouthful of water before continuing. “He wants to end the human dominance of the world. He says that Witches should be the governing body everywhere, that humans should only be available to serve him and his people. As for Vampires and Wolves, well, he wants to destroy them.”

Sam’s hand tightened on Charmaine’s and she gave a little yelp before he loosened his hold. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you, but fuck! Who
is
this guy? Just how does he plan on killing Vamps and Shifters?”

Starr answered. “Dragon blood. He’s gonna use it to wield dark magic and
that
will most definitely kill Vampires and Wolves. I’m right aren’t I?” she asked Charmaine.

“Yes, he’s been stockpiling it for years. Long before the last Dragon and I’m so sorry about your loss. I did my best, especially the last few months. I knew he was weak and would try and pretend I’d taken blood when I hadn’t but
he
always knew and I’d be punished.”

Charmaine’s face was white as a sheet as she stared at the table in front, not meeting their eyes. Ronan frowned. “What form of punishment?”

Sam growled, low, deep in his throat as Ronan met his gaze. “It’s a valid question, Sam. We need all the intel we can get on this man so we can assess and formulate a plan.”

Charmaine glanced at Sam, her cheeks burning red before she looked down again. “I’d rather not say, not here anyway. Please, don’t make me talk about that here.”

Starr reached over, her hand grasping the one that held the water bottle. “It’s okay, why don’t you tell us what you want to just now and the rest? Well, that can wait ‘til we’re home and in more private surroundings. Okay?”

Ronan was about to argue but Starr dug him in the ribs, her eyes wide as if he should know what she was meaning. Just like that, it came to him and he almost blushed himself for pushing the girl.
“Cac! I’m an idiot!”
he thought as he saw the grateful look Charmaine gave to Starr.

“Yes, can we do that?” Charmaine almost pleaded.

“Of course.” Starr replied quietly.

“Can you two turn away for a moment?” Charmaine asked, looking at Sam and Ronan.

Ronan frowned but did as she asked. He could hear her moving around, her clothing rustling before she said. “Okay, you can look now.”

Ronan turned as Charmaine held her hands just above the table, as if she were holding something they couldn’t see. She placed her hands on the table then spoke a few words and a very old, dark red, leather notebook appeared in front of them.

“A simple cloaking spell. Doesn’t take a lot of magic so I’ve managed to keep this hidden. It’s my Book of Spells but I’ve also managed to jot down notes on what I’ve heard.”

Ronan looked at the book, noting an intricate pattern on the front. One that he knew. “That’s Celtic. It’s similar to the trinity knot but tweaked a bit.”

Charmaine’s lips twitched, lifting slightly at each end. “Yes, it is. My grandmother is originally from Ireland and she designed this for me. She gave it to me on my sixteenth birthday, although the cover is far older. She used it on her very first spells book and added the Celtic adornment just for me ‘cause I love anything like that.”

Starr reached over, running her hand over the soft leather. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yes, it is. I love it and managed to keep it hidden. I would’ve been devastated if I’d lost it. My grandmother and mother both put some basic spells in there for me to learn and I’ve been adding to it since I was sixteen.” Charmaine’s fingers traveled across the front, tracing the Celtic knot pattern on the front.

Starr asked, “How old are you?”

Charmaine looked a little upset. “I’m not sure. What year is it?”

Ronan thought this a very strange question but answered and Charmaine’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m twenty four. They’ve had me for six years! Six years!”

“Oh my Goddess!” Starr’s voice full of shock and Ronan wasn’t surprised, he was shocked too.

Sam placed an arm around her shoulders. “It’s okay, I’ve got you now and you’re safe. I promise.”

Ronan noted the words his friend used. Saying
I
instead of
we
.

Starr encouraged the young woman. “So, Charmaine, what have you found out? Any information will help us.”

Charmaine took a deep breath, opening her book and checking through some pages before stopping. “So, he’s very old, I know he doesn’t look that old, but he is. He and two or three of his closest men have been working on this for a very long time. At one point they spoke of having three Dragons prisoner and they did to them what they did to the last one. Bled them until they could no longer survive. That blood has been given, in very small doses, to the rest of the Covenant to let them get used to dealing with dark magic.”

Esther joined the conversation from across the aisle. “Sorry, for butting in, but how often do they use? The more often, then the more corrupted they will become with the dark magic. That means they’ll have no moral filter at all and will be far more dangerous.”

“
Cac
!” Ronan cursed as Charmaine continued.

“I’m not certain, only that he keeps the blood to a minimum when handing it out. He has several places where he stashes it, but I only know the general whereabouts, not addresses or anything like that. One is in the desert near Vegas, one is on the Canadian border, it’s a small town, I can’t remember the name but if I looked at a map it might come back to me. The other place I heard him talking about is in Colorado, some kind of big ranch. That’s his home and his ‘stronghold’ as he puts it.” Charmaine stopped, taking another drink of water.

Ronan was listening intently. “Do you know where he keeps the biggest supply of the blood? Or what his plans are?”

Charmaine looked pensive as she answered. “I would think the main supply would be at his home. He must call it his ‘stronghold’ for a reason. His plans? Yeah, I’ve heard them talk about it for a long time. The mountain is where he held meetings with his inner circle. That’s what those rooms were all about. They would meet and discuss things, get drunk, sleep, then start all over again. He’s planning on supplying those men with blood to distribute to their own covens. Then they will strike, taking out the human governments first. Once they have control, they’re planning on going after the other beings, Vamps and Wolves and whatever else there is. I think you need to work fast ‘cause his last meeting was only a few days ago and they were talking of moving up the initial strike. I’ve no idea on exact dates though.”

“Fuck! This is huge!” Sam cursed, his hand still holding one of Charmaine’s.

Esther’s voice was full of loathing when she spoke. “These are the worst kind of Witches. Ones who have their own, selfish agendas and have the power to carry them out. Ronan, we cannot allow this to happen. The bloodshed would be catastrophic.”

Ronan was more than a little shocked at the scale of things Charmaine had told them. “I know, Esther. We’re gonna have to work hard and fast to find and eliminate this
Na Cúnant Dorcha
. I’ll also have to let the Boss know, we may need his help.”