Henchgirl (Dakota Kekoa Book 1) (41 page)

“Listen to me!” I shouted into Cordelia’s morphing face.

Coiling her back into me was the last thing I wanted to do, but I did not think I had a choice. Cordelia was going to change into something like a werewolf but much more terrifying; and from the looks of it, she was planning to kill Lorelei.

Opening my ring, I took her rage and pulled, it was easy, as though having had half of her soul already pass through me earlier greased the wheels.

“I don’t want to take your soul into me,” I said, “I just spent all that energy giving your soul back to you. But I will uncoil your soul if you don’t calm down!”

Her gaze fixed on me and a pulse of terror fed from her, through me and into the ring along with the rage. It took a minute but her face morphed closer and closer to looking human.

“Listen to me closely,” I said when she was calm enough to focus. “I saved you; I gave you back your soul. However, I did not do it for you; the only reason I did it was to save my sister. And I will take it back if you ever look at her that way again.” I squeezed her arm.

“I understand,” she said, terror pouring into me now.

I pushed her terror back into her. “Never even consider hurting Lorelei or any of my family again.”

“On my honor, I promise I will never intentionally hurt a member of your family,” Cordelia said.

Then, there was the sound of applause.

I looked up to see almost everyone in the room look upset and drawn.

Wyvern Rex Sr, however, was smiling and clapping. From where he sat in his chair across the room, his legs lazily crossed, he said, “You both were incredible, ladies.
That
was quite a memorable singing performance.”

Chapter Twenty Four

“Uncle Bobby once told me that there’s a family of dracons in Europa that were from a bog dragon and everyone inherited farts that poisoned people,” Stacy blurted out. “That’s worse than yours.”

Lorelei let out something that could have been a laugh.

I put my arm around Stacy because I could tell that having Lorelei out of commission like this seriously upset her. We had come home and immediately all of us sisters piled on Lorelei’s bed. Clara sat at the head of the bed, combing through Lorelei’s hair.

Wyvern was also with us, he had helped Lorelei up the stairs because she had been barely awake when Clara and Braiden drove her home, and he stayed.

“When I’m a dragon, I spew poison,” Wyvern said from Lorelei’s desk chair. “Poisonous projectile-vomit. That’s worse than yours.”

That received a little chuckle from Lorelei as well.

I blinked at Wyvern, something about what he said bothered me but I could not quite figure out what it was.

“Your singing voice is very beautiful,” Clara said. Totally failing at this.

I quickly said, “Grandfather once sent me after a dracon that vacationed here, he was wrapping humans in mucus cocoons. And it was grosser than it sounds. That’s worse.”

For an hour or so, we continued to tell about aspects worse than singing out people’s souls. We stayed together even after Lorelei and Stacy fell asleep, sitting in silence. I had once heard my father called a soul-singer by my grandfather, but I had never heard the term explained or any mention of him using that aspect. I guess when my grandfather said that I was a singer, he was lying yet still kind of close to telling the truth.

Life would have been so much easier if my father were still alive to teach us how to deal with our inherited aspects. So many things would be easier if he was still alive.

Now that I realized it was because my father was half Mabiian that our aspects were so powerful and extraordinary, likely my younger sisters and I were different from all other dracons.

I looked at Wyvern and remembered that he was different too. Us four.

Clara extricated herself from Lorelei, tucking her under the blanket. She then lifted a now sleeping Stacy and carried her out whispering a goodnight to us on the way out.

I climbed off the bed, offering my hand to Wyvern.

We walked to my room as Mele was still asleep in the guestroom. Wyvern closed the door behind us.

“What will your father do?” I asked, because I had to.

“About what?” Wyvern said, he picked me up and carried me to the bed, and set me down.

“About Lorelei and me?”

Wyvern shrugged off his suit jacket and kicked off his shoes before he answered. “I don’t know where everyone is getting their information but my father doesn’t steal children,” he said. “He looks young but he’s been around for a very long time. He doesn’t seduce teenagers either, let alone fourteen year olds.”

“I’m not meaning to say he does, I don’t know,” I said, afraid I offended him; I would be offended if it was the other way around. “I’m just worried because of how everyone is acting about him, that’s all.”

“He’s interested, he’ll probably have you both watched, maybe put some protection in place, Lorelei more than you,” Wyvern said as he lay down beside me.

“Because she’s stronger,” I said.

“No, out of respect for me,” he said, kissing me gently.

Warmth spread through me at his touch but I wasn’t ready to forget about everything…yet.

“But he won’t do anything?”

“Oh, he will, he’ll do everything he can to collect you both into our household, and by any means necessary. But he’s eternally patient. Not now, but perhaps ten years down the road he will try to seduce Lorelei,” he said.

“Because she’s stronger than me?”

“No,” he growled, rolling on top of me. “She’s perhaps more powerful but not by much. She’ll probably be able to do what she did today but on a massive scale.”

Oh, Gods I really hope not.

“Your aspect is much more desirable from his point of view, much more versatile and manageable. He’s not going to try to seduce you because you’re mine.”

Then he kissed me and as crazy as it was, I just could not care about anything else. Every place our bodies touched sent rivers of tingles into me, and we touched in so many places; my foot moved against his ankle, his hands intertwined with mine and pressed them into the mattress over my head, our skin brushed against each other with every movement. And nothing compared with what happened when his lips moved against mine.

Then what had bothered me earlier shot into my mind. I pulled back just a little, “Wyvern?” I said.

His lips moved to my ear and he nipped it.

“Hey!” I said, laughing. “I need to ask you something.”

“I’m busy,” he said, and then he started kissing my neck.

“You spit poison?”

He chuckled. “Only when I’m a dragon.”

“But you did not, when you were a dragon, you turned to me when I was trying to drain your rage…you looked right at me.”

“I try not to spew poison on girls I want to ask out,” he said.

“But you don’t mind throwing trees at them?” I asked.

“I did not see you until I saw you grabbing onto my leg. I was berserk, but I still recognized you. I was going to nudge you out of the way so I could get back to throwing trees.” He nipped my lip.

“I thought you were going to eat me,” I said.

“No, I knew that if I
ate
you, then I would never have been able to do this.” He pressed his lips to mine then coaxed my unyielding lips apart with gentle kisses.

My mind was spinning and guilt was building a big ball in my stomach.

I had taken a piece of his soul…for nothing.

But Wyvern was a persistent kisser and soon I only had room in my mind for what our lips were doing to each other.

Much later that night, I fell asleep wrapped in his arms.

My eyes opened to sunlight as a hand brushed hair back from my face.

“Hey,” I whispered, croakily.

“Hey,” Wyvern said. “Someone keeps texting your phone.” He placed it in front of me.

“Thanks,” I said. Not raising my head I thumbed through to my text messages.

All the texts were from Glacier and Bobby, who had amazingly not texted me in like twenty four hours before that. That was some sort of record.

‘New orders, call,’ and ‘do not act on any of your assignments, lay low today,’ from Glacier. Bobby’s were, ‘shit is going down,’ and ‘call me, you’re going to get a kick out of what my boys are up to,’ and ‘you still have your girl Mele with you, ya?’

I sat up. “I think that the Hells’ Hogs are acting on the info we gave them,” I said. “My uncles are trying to make sure I keep clear of where Mele’s mom and the Hales are.”

I text back to Glacier, ‘roger, roger, lying low.’

To Bobby, ‘tell me everything.’

‘I texted for you to call me,’ I received immediately from Glacier.

I called.

When he answered I asked, “What’s happening?”

“It’s not important; you just need to stay in your home today. If any of your school friends come by have your mother tell them you are ill and send them away.”

“Cool, got it,” I said.

“You better have,” he said. That was ‘I love you’ in Glacier, I was pretty sure. He hung up.

‘Over on the other side, my boys are planning a parade,’ Bobby had texted while I was talking to Glacier.

Another one came in right away, ‘make sure you and your girl Mele keep clear of her house today.’

‘Cryptic enough?’

‘I’m going to record it with my phone, I’ll text it to you,’ Bobby texted.

Great, I was going to see the end of this all play out through one of my uncle Bobby’s horribly shot videos texted to my phone.

I knew I would have to talk to Mele about what was going on, it was the right thing to do. But, telling her that her mom was involved in kidnapping and killing girls throughout the island really felt like a conversation that could wait until after I took a shower.

…Especially the part where I basically sent the Hells’ Hogs to Mele’s mom’s home to get the kidnapped girls’ location from her.

While Wyvern went downstairs to order some food from the cook, whom I had yet to meet, I took my time in the shower, enjoying the warm water. When the water turned cold and I could not think of any other excuse to stay in the bathroom I did the towel-dash to my room.

Thankfully it was empty. After getting dressed I pinned to the back of my pants at the small of my back my little eastern-print purse that had the portal to where Contingency was stored.

When I sat down on my bed, something crinkled under me. Standing back up I found a piece of paper folded in half with my name scrawled across it in Mele’s handwriting.

Opening the note I read:

Hey Dakota,

So, I figured out that you’re not human. Actually, other than you, your family is really bad at hiding it, especially your uncle Bobby. I figured it out like, the second day. I know why you hid it from me; it’s about protecting your entire family. And, even I can figure out what you are when you’re entire family is magical. Whatever reason you have to be pretending to be human, I don’t care. You’re my best friend even if you’re a dracon. I’m some weird thing too now, so how can I hold you being a dracon against you, anyhow? We’ll just be a little more awesome than we already are.

And now I want to ask your forgiveness, because I know how much your father’s charm bracelet means to you—

I ran out of the room not finishing reading the note. Running downstairs I yelled, “Mele! Stop! Mele!”

Chapter Twenty Five

As I ran through the hall, Clara stepped out of the kitchen. “Dakota?” she asked.

“Mele!” I shouted.

“Mele just left,” Clara said, “She borrowed Wyvern’s car.”

“Shit!” I shouted, “Is he with her?”

“No,” Wyvern said, stepping out from behind Clara.

“We need to go!”

“You’re not wearing shoes,” Clara said.

“Screw my shoes!” I ran out the door.

Wyvern did not hesitate, he ran out right behind me, unlocking the Vervari.

“What about your phone?” Clara called.

I ran back, grabbed it from Clara, and then jumped into the door of the Vervari that Wyvern had left open for me. I shouted, “Mele’s house! Go!”

He took off.

I called Mele’s number, but it just rang and rang, “She’s not answering. I bet she’s avoiding me because she thinks I’m mad at her…”

“She left you a note?” Wyvern asked.

While calling her and listening to the repetitive ring on the other end, I read the note to him only taking breaks to direct him to her house.

I continued with the part I had not read yet, “
And now I want to ask your forgiveness because I know how much your father’s charm bracelet means to you and I will give it back as soon as I return from my mom’s house. I figured out what the charm bracelet you always wore was. I even tested it out last night at the school to be sure.

Alika took me. We will never discuss that.

My mother is pretty bad at being a mom but she’s the only family I have and she’s really worried about me. She’s been blowing up my phone non-stop and I just need to show her I’m okay. I just could not wait a couple more days for that water-charm the witch is making me. Love you, Mele
.” I looked up from the note. “Go left!” Hanging up again, I tried to call again, this time it went straight to voicemail. “She’s not answering! I screwed this up so bad, Wyvern.”

“We’ll handle it. Her mother’s house is warded?” he said.

“Yes,” I said.

He clicked on his phone, “Dial Sophie Bernard,” he said to the phone.

After his phone said in a computerized voice, “Dialing Sophie Bernard,” the ring tone sounded over the car’s speakers.

“Mr. Manderson?” A woman said with an accent I did not know.

“Sophie I need you to get Sarah to—”

I scrolled through my contacts, found Mele, and said, “878 Halimali Drive.”

“I have it on my GPS I will be there in fifty-eight minutes,” Sophie said.

“Park two blocks north,” Wyvern instructed.

“Thank you,” I said before the line disconnected.

To Wyvern I said, “I have a really horrible feeling that Mele’s own mother is going to kill her; she might not even feel bad about it when she realizes that Mele’s infected.”