Chosen Destiny (17 page)

nervous.

“All right.” He lifted her off her feet. She saw a tunnel open up in front of them just

before he stepped forward. The feel of movement and momentum was less than it

usually felt, but it was there.

The gate opened and she saw a bed in front of them. She recognized the blankets

and realized he’d brought them to the lair. He released her, but took her hand and led

her over to the couch.

“What did you want to talk about?” Samiel asked, tugging her down onto the

couch.

“We’re going to have to go to Dicsin. The coven’s become the target of the attack

and we need to remove the reason before the Dark Sorcerer gets any closer,” Meagan

said.

“Gets closer to what? We’ll go. I need more information before we go. I’m not going

to go into the situation blind.” Samiel put his hand on her leg, squeezing gently.

“The coven in Dicsin has part of an old generator. The Dark Sorcerer wants it. It

needs to be moved and hidden again. Since the Dark Sorcerer knows of it, someone in

their coven told of it.” She met his eyes.

“What did the generator do?” He straightened, his attention suddenly focused

completely on the matter.

“I only know the legend. It’s the only story of a generator I know so I think it’s part

of that generator. It was created by the witches of three covens in these mountains. It

created a giant shield around the three cities hundreds of years ago before the Kings.”

She bit her lip.

“There are only two cities now,” Samiel prodded.

79

Rebecca Airies

“The other town fell just after the first Kings began their reign.” She’d seen the

ruins on the mountain as she’d traveled during her duties, but she’d never had time to

explore.

“You said there was only one piece of a generator. Where are the other parts?”

“I don’t know. I don’t even know how many pieces they broke it into or why they

felt they needed to do it. First, we have to get that piece and move it to somewhere it

can’t be found.”

“You’re right. We don’t want a Dark Sorcerer getting his hands on it.” Samiel

nodded. “We’ll go back to town and I’ll gather up a few more dragons as well as Jaeson.

Then we’ll all go get it.”

She nodded. “Let’s go. I want this old part out of the area. Since I have no idea of a

location beyond these mountains, you and the others are going to have to take care of

that.”

Samiel laughed. “We’ll hide it, maybe even destroy it.”

He stood and she rose to her feet. He took her into his arms and lifted her off her

feet again. She didn’t really mind. He took two steps forward and she felt the pull of a

tunnel enclosing them. Bright sunlight nearly blinded her after the darkness of the

tunnel. His strong legs easily handled the momentum and he took only a single step

after the tunnel propelled them forward. She looked up at him, completely at ease and

confident in his strength.

“You know I can walk.” She smoothed her hand over his chest. She wasn’t objecting

to being held against him, but she felt that some objection was necessary. He had a

disturbing tendency to take over, but she was in favor of any excuse that had his arms

around her.

Samiel just hugged her tightly. “I like carrying you.”

“You like to feel her softness, particularly her breasts, against you.” Jaeson’s voice

came from somewhere to their right.

Meagan turned her head and saw him standing near Maxim. “I kind of got that

impression. Hi, it’s good you’re here. We don’t have to track you down.”

“What’s wrong? Why would you have hunted me?” Jaeson’s face hardened and he

lost all trace of humor.

“We’re going to have a busy afternoon,” Samiel said cryptically. “Get two other

vampires here. Maxim, which other dragons are in the town?”

“Danan’s here and so are Lassan and Kael,” Maxim offered after a moment’s

consideration.

“Call one other dragon. We won’t leave the village without extra strength of

dragons.” Samiel pulled her in front of him.

She leaned back against him and brought her hands up to cover her ears. She fully

expected to hear that loud roar echoing vibrating through her entire body. Jaeson came

over and pulled her hands away from her ears. He was smiling widely.

80

Chosen Destiny

“We won’t need one of them to call for the others. I’ve already taken care of it. I will

admit they are loud. I’ll bet your ears rang for a long time after that roar earlier.” His

thumbs stroked over her palms in small circles.

“My palms didn’t block much of it.” She shrugged. “They are coming, aren’t they?”

“They’re coming. Why are you so impatient? What are we doing?”

“We’re going somewhere. I’ll tell you when we get there. There are too many

people who could hear.” She shook her head. This wasn’t something she was going to

chance.

“Mysterious. If you didn’t look so serious, I’d try to convince you to tell me.” Jaeson

leaned close and brushed his lips over hers.

She followed as he slowly pulled back. She didn’t want to lose contact with those

firm lips. Samiel’s hold stopped her as Jaeson moved out of reach. She groaned and was

a little irritated, but knew that it was probably for the best. There wasn’t time now for

distractions and both men definitely qualified as that. As soon as the last of the dragons

and vampires arrived, they needed to leave for Dicsin. It didn’t take long at all for the

two vampires and one dragon to arrive.

“Good, we can leave now.” Samiel released her to step forward. She knew he

intended to form the tunnel. She put her hand on his arm. He could get them to the

town. Any of the men could do that, but she could get them much closer to where they

needed to be.

“I’ll do the tunnel this time. I can get us right in front of the sect house. It will be

better if we don’t have to travel to it,” she explained when Samiel glanced at her.

“Better as in you’re expecting some kind of trouble?” Danan raised a brown

eyebrow. He was one of the dragons who could have been mistaken for a normal

sorcerer or vampire if he wasn’t wearing the crystal earring. The red stripes in his hair

weren’t that obvious.

“There could be trouble. I don’t know how high the information leak goes, but we

might have some trouble after we get there. It won’t be hard to deduce that we’re there

to get something important.” She wasn’t going to lie about it. They needed to be on

their guard.

“True. We’ll be ready for any sign of trouble.” Jaeson nodded. “Let’s go. I want to

find out what exactly we’re going to get.”

Meagan created a tunnel. Danan and Grae stepped through the opening. Samiel

kept her behind him as Maxim and Jadin went in next.

“You have a shield around yourself before you step into that tunnel.” Jaeson

squeezed her hand just before he stepped into the tunnel.

She smiled and watched the tunnel take him. The remark didn’t offend her. It was

just what she expected from both him and Samiel. She fully expected Samiel to give her

some kind of admonition before he stepped through the tunnel. Samiel took her hand

and looked over at her. He didn’t say anything just stood there.

81

Rebecca Airies

“What are you waiting for?” She tilted her head, expecting some kind of advice. He

still didn’t trust her abilities as a fighter. That would take time and experience to

remedy.

“You. We’ll go through together.” He tugged her hand.

She smiled but stepped forward. It wasn’t the lecture she expected, but it didn’t

surprise her. It was yet another example of his protectiveness. She walked into the

tunnel at his side. The tunnel opened and she stumbled as the momentum propelled her

forward. Samiel’s fingers tightened on her hand, pulling her to a stop. No matter how

many times she opened a tunnel, she could never prepare for the exit.

“What took you so long?” Jaeson walked over to her and curved an arm around

her. “I was beginning to worry that someone had attacked you.”

“No, he insisted on coming through at my side, but didn’t say anything until I

asked him why he was waiting.” She stepped forward and moved out of the group of

dragons and vampires.

“Of course, he did. If I’d been the last one with you, I wouldn’t have stepped in

without you either.” Jaeson stayed at her side.

The coven house of Dicsin stood in front of her. Like the coven house of her village,

two statues stood in front of the building, but these bore no robes or flowers. The last

few days must have been hard even with dragon and vampire help. She could see the

scars of the battle on the wall. She mounted the steps. It was time to get this piece of

generator out of the village and take it out of Dark Sorcerer’s path. She just wished

she’d known how much the town had been targeted. She’d have been here helping.

One of the younger witches opened the large double doors before she reached

them. Meagan nodded to the girl. She didn’t pause at the doors, but headed for the

Council room. She didn’t have time for formalities. She heard the footsteps of the others

as they followed her. The layout of the coven was similar to the coven house in Apolin

except that the council room was at the back of the building and not the front. She

knocked once on the council door before pushing it open and walking into the room.

Three of the council members sat behind the long table. They looked up and smiled as

they saw Meagan and the dragons and vampires. She didn’t know all of them by name

although she had seen them all before. She doubted they knew her by sight so she

expected some questions.

“Elder Dahles, the elders of the Apolin coven told me that you needed a little help.”

Meagan stepped forward and nodded respectfully.

“High Witch Danae, it’s good of you to come. This is Elder Valeas and Elder Bareck.

I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but we need you to prove that you are the

Tiria
. We will only hand this over to the
Tiria
,” Elder Dahles said.

“I don’t mind showing you. I know how important this is which is why I brought

the dragons and vampires with me as security for the artifact.” Meagan smiled.

82

Chosen Destiny

She flexed her fingers and called the weapons from the
Fa’ed
. The weapons settled

into her hands. She looked up and arched a brow waiting for the verdict. The elders

looked at her consideringly. Elder Dahles stood and walked around the table.

“May I see the dagger?” the elder asked.

“I’ll hold it up, but don’t try to touch it.” Meagan stepped forward cautiously

holding up the dagger. She didn’t want the elder to be hurt.

“I know. I won’t. I just want to see it.” The elder stopped in front of her. Her head

tilted. “I never thought I’d even see the weapons, but they’re here.”

The elder studied the blades for a few moments before stepping back. Meagan sent

the blades back to the
Fa’ed
, the store place for them when not in use. Now that the

elder had seen them, hopefully, they could get to securing that generator.

“Which of these dragons and vampires are yours?” Elder Dahles looked at the

assembled dragons and vampires.

Meagan’s mouth fell open. Which of them were hers? She’d never thought of it like

that. She still wasn’t ready to think of them like that. They were possessive and seemed

so certain of everything, but they didn’t know her. She didn’t know them. And there

were already problems between them. Samiel’s control issue was a big one. She trusted

him not to hurt her. She didn’t know why he couldn’t trust himself. There wasn’t a

major issue with Jaeson, but she knew there would be problems. The question was

could they overcome them or would it be better if she walked away from them when

the fighting was finished. She shook her head. This wasn’t the time to analyze their

relationship.

“This is Samiel and Jaeson. My magic is a match with theirs, apparently.” Meagan

didn’t have to gesture. Samiel and Jaeson had moved forward to stand at her side. “The

men behind me are Maxim, Danan, Grae, and Jadin.”

“We have met and seen some of them as they helped protect the village.” There was

genuine warmth in the elder’s voice. “Come. I’ll take you to what the Dark Sorcerer has

been after these last few attacks.”

“Good. The sooner we get that to a safe place, the better I’ll feel.” She nodded and

followed as the elder led the way to the back of the room.

Elder Dahles put her hand on the wall. Meagan knew there must be a door hidden

there. The wall disappeared, revealing a dark opening. She saw stairs leading down but

little else.

The elder turned and smiled. “This way. I’ll lead you to it. Be careful on the stairs.

They’re quite steep.”

Meagan moved forward. A hand on her arm stopped her. She looked over her

shoulder expecting to see Samiel frowning, being overprotective. Jaeson stood there

shaking his head. She turned her head as she saw something move from the corner of

her eye. Samiel strode toward the opening.

“You don’t go down any dark stairs first when we’re with you,” Jaeson said softly.