Chosen Destiny (10 page)

vampires but I’m sure there was something behind the urge besides the fact that I have

a very nice throat.” She smiled trying to lighten his mood.

“You have a beautiful neck. I’m not sure what it was, but it might have had

something to with our discussion about whether you were my mate or weren’t.” His

mouth twisted. “I told you I was possessive.”

He fell onto his side and rolled over to his back, pulling her across his chest. She put

her chin on an arm and stared at him. He didn’t seem entirely satisfied with the answer.

“I’m just glad you’re not entirely contained. I want the man I’m with to enjoy

himself as much as I do even if he can be a little controlling.” She drew a finger up his

ribs.

“That wasn’t controlling, Meagan.” He laughed. “I could show you how much

you’re going to enjoy control, but I think Samiel will have a few things to teach you

about that.”

“If he tries to be so controlling that he’s not enjoying himself we’re going to have

something to talk about.” She scowled. One man going nuts because he did something

he hadn’t planned was as much as she could handle.

“Not controlling like that. Tie you up controlling.” He drew his hand down her

back.

She titled her head. The thought of being bound by them wasn’t as scary as she’d

have imagined. For some reason she trusted Samiel and Jaeson. She had no idea how it

happened. She had barely even met them and they hadn’t done anything to show that

she could trust them.

46

Chosen Destiny

“That sounds interesting. Do I get to tie you up too?” She drew her finger up his

ribs again. When her finger found a spot under his arm that made him laugh and

wriggle, he captured her hand.

“You may get to do it, but pushing could get you into trouble, especially with the

dragon. Now close your eyes and get some rest. I have a feeling you’ll be back to work

early tomorrow.” His fingers threaded through her hair and his eyes locked with hers.

She relaxed. His guess was right, but she wasn’t worried about the accuracy. She’d

said enough to show an idiot how important the search was to her. It would be strange

if he hadn’t expected her to want to go back to work. Just a little sleep and then she’d

return to the sect house.

47

Rebecca Airies

Samiel strolled into the sect house. A couple of younger witches gave him an

annoyed glance, but he ignored it. His woman was here and he wanted to see her. As he

walked down the hallway he noticed that the flowers in the vases were fresh and the

floors clean and polished to a shine. The fact that the witches were keeping to the

regular schedules assured him that most of them were still coping well. Now he just

had to see how their witch was doing after last night.

He’d half-expected to find her with Jaeson at the inn. The sun had been up for a

while, but he knew if he had her in bed with him, he wouldn’t let her out of his arms.

Jaeson hadn’t been at the inn, but the innkeeper had told him that Meagan had left

before the sun had touched the horizon this morning. He knew she was searching for a

reason behind the attacks so he looked first in the library. She was at the same table

she’d been at yesterday.

Her glossy black hair was confined in a long braid. The jewels along the upper

curve of her ear glinted in the light. He liked that flash of color. She didn’t even look up

as he walked through the rows of shelves toward her. The neck of her flowing cream

shirt dipped low revealing the valley between her breasts. He licked his lips at the sight

of that beautiful, creamy brown skin.

“Find anything?” he asked. He tried to ignore the hardening of his body. She was

right. They did need to find out why the sorcerer was so fixated on this area.

She sighed heavily as she lifted clear green eyes to meet his. “Too many things.

Without any way to narrow down what he wants, this could take forever.”

He smiled and took a seat beside her. “Let me help. We might be able to narrow

some of it down.”

“Some of what I’d considered to unbelievable might even be their goal.” She

gestured to a stack of papers on the end of the table. “There are a few references to

mystical weapons. I was going to discount them because the books say they can only be

used for protection but…”

“Dark Sorcerers are persistent and not inclined to accept something just because it’s

been written.” Samiel nodded understanding her doubt. “Anything to do with the

weapons or possible power shouldn’t be discounted.”

“There are references to treasure, to some legends. Now that I’ve begun to find

things, I can’t think of any way to narrow it down.” She shut one of the books. “There

are too many possibilities. We’ll never find out why he’s targeted these two cities.”

“We’ll narrow it down after we learn a bit more about the Dark Sorcerer. We’ll

learn what he wants. It’s probably not wealth, because he could steal that during

48

Chosen Destiny

attacks. Unless there’s something else along with the treasure, a weapon, lost books of

some sort, he wouldn’t need to search for it.” Samiel knew just how frustrating the

waiting could be.

“What kind of revelation do you think you’re going to make about the Dark

Sorcerer? He’s been attacking us for months. If there was a pattern or the minions were

searching for something, you can bet we’d have noticed it.” She folded her arms and

glared at him.

Samiel tried to hold back a smile. She was practically radiating fury. If she got any

angrier, she might just try to hit him with one of those books. He didn’t know if she was

always that quick to anger or if it was just this subject. Regardless, the thought of

finding ways to soothe that fiery temper excited him. His mind automatically pictured

her naked, beneath him as he drove into her or made her so wild with desire that she

couldn’t think about why she was angry.

“Well, since I can fly, if he’s been searching for something in the mountains, I might

see some evidence that would be missed on the ground.” He shrugged unwilling to get

into an argument about it. She wasn’t going to be rational about it. Along with probably

every other witch here, she was too close to this situation.

She glared at him. Her fingers drummed on the cover of one of the books. He could

see that she was trying to calm herself down. Her beautiful green eyes swept over him

as if she was trying to decide what she was going to do to him. He had a few

suggestions in mind if she really needed help.

“Jaeson said you were out finding a temporary lair as well as scouting. Did you find

what you need?” She took a deep breath.

He nodded. He’d found the perfect place in the mountains. As to the temporary

part, he wasn’t sure about that. This area needed at least one dragon in the area, since

there wasn’t a pair of wizards anywhere near this region. Then there was Meagan. She

had definite protective feelings toward this region and would be worried as long as

they were away from it.

“I found a lair. I didn’t find any sign of
merdanons
in the mountains or near the

town. Tell me about some of the legends.” Samiel leaned back in the chair. He shifted,

trying to get comfortable in the hard-backed wooden seat.

“You’ll have to conjure some cushions. These chairs weren’t made for extended

stays. You’re supposed to find what you need and get out,” she told him with a smile.

He laughed and stood, doing as she suggest and creating cushions. “The legends…”

“Well, there’s one about Goren Delisi, an ancient warrior wizard. He appeared in

the area suddenly one day. There’s not a specific date but they do mention the merging

of the two moons which would be thousands of years ago, before the first Kings.” She

picked up one of the books to her right and flipped it open.

“I’ve heard of him and he wasn’t a simple warrior wizard.” Samiel pulled the book

a little closer to him.

49

Rebecca Airies

“What? Is he supposed to be some kind of dragon because a mere wizard couldn’t

have accomplished anything great?” She turned in her seat and scowled at him.

“He was a vampire, not a dragon. Wizards can do great things. I was just pointing

out a fact. Don’t get snippy on me, woman.” He smiled. “Your bad mood might just

need some adjusting.”

She sniffed and turned away from him. “Even you’re not big enough to do that.”

The woman showed absolutely no fear of his greater strength. Maybe she didn’t

know just how much stronger he was than her. Or maybe Jaeson had simply made love

to her. Samiel knew that easing her into their life might just be the best way to do it. She

might not get scared and try to run from them if they moved slowly.

“The legend?” He raised a brow.

She laughed softly. “Goren Delisi supposedly fought and defeated a Dark Sorcerer

in these mountains. From the stories in here, this wasn’t a Dark Sorcerer as we know

them. This guy would make ours look like apprentices.”

“What did this guy do that made him so different from the other Dark Sorcerers?”

Samiel titled his head. If this guy had done something so unusual, so effective, then that

could very well be why the Dark Sorcerer was searching for here.

“The stories tell of creatures worse than
merdanons
. Intelligent, fast. He created

those beasts. They were called
tandini
. There are pages of stories about the death and

destruction the beasts caused. There’s something about them drawing power from

those they kill.” She put her finger on a drawing.

He leaned closer and looked at the illustration. A slender reddish-brown-skinned

beast stood among destroyed buildings. Its face was vaguely human, but that was

almost the only thing that seemed familiar. The yellow hair on its head flowed in every

direction, some even seeming to stand up in spikes. The beast appeared to have fur of

the same yellow sticking up along its arms and legs. Armor covered the beast’s chest.

Just judging by the size compared to the building, the beasts looked to be smaller than

the
merdanons
they regularly faced. If this was the goal of the Dark Sorcerer, they had to

stop him before he found a way to make these beasts.

“Did the story say what happened to the Dark Sorcerer’s hold?” He looked up

catching her eyes moving over his face.

“Not specifically. Just that he destroyed all the beasts and leveled the Dark

Sorcerer’s hold. My guess is that he destroyed what could be and hid what couldn’t as

we do when we stop a Dark Sorcerer.” She shrugged. “If there was anything left, it

could be anywhere.”

“Maybe not anywhere. Just like witches, vampires and dragons are trained. There

are patterns and techniques that are common.” He sat back thoughtfully. “Are there any

other interesting legends about this area?”

“I already told you there were more than I ever expected.” She glared at him.

“Tell me about a few of them,” he invited.

50

Chosen Destiny

“Most of the stories I’ve found are mere mentions. I’ll have to go back and try to

find the specifics on each in different books, but there’s more than enough to worry

me.” She took a deep breath.

“Like what?” He reached over and lifted her hand into his. He wanted to pull her

into his lap, but knew she’d resist that. At least here, she might be a little shy about

being so open within the coven.

“There are mentions of a weapon used to defend a village in this area. I have no

idea what it did, but it supposedly kept an army of
merdanons
away from the village. If

that’s true, I’d hate to see what it could do in the hands of a Dark Sorcerer.” She looked

down at his hand but made no move to free herself.

“That’s another definite possibility. If it wasn’t destroyed or it there’s a way to build

another, the Dark Sorcerer could be after that.” He nodded. She was right. It wasn’t

going to be easy to narrow down what the Dark Sorcerer wanted.

“And there’s more like that. Every time I open another book, it seems like there’s

another possible goal.” She sighed heavily and shook her head.

“I’d tell you to stop opening books, but we both know the more information we

have the better we’ll do in battle against this Dark Sorcerer.” He looked over at her

noticing the slump of her shoulders.

“I know, but I’d rather be out there doing something.” She grimaced.

“Come on. You need a break. I know just what you need.” He tried not to let the

building anticipation leak into his voice. The sight of her shoulders slumping pulled at

something inside him. The moment he’d noticed her frustration an idea had begun to

form. He wanted to take her out of here and put the smile on her face again. He didn’t

know how she’d react but he definitely planned to try.

“You know what I need? Would it involve a full day away from these books and

someone catering to my whims?” She raised her brows.

“Not this time. I’ll keep it in mind for next time.” He stood and tugged at her hand,