Her Mad Dragon (Dragon Guard Series Book 15) (5 page)

BOOK: Her Mad Dragon (Dragon Guard Series Book 15)
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Sliding to the left, narrowly missing another blow from the
black dragon’s trusty club, the mad dragon attempted to wipe the blood from his
eyes with his free hand. His vision, now a smeared red haze, cleared just
enough to see the shadow of Kyran’s roundhouse kick. Maddox ducked before the
black dragon’s foot made contact with his head, but his right shoulder was
not
as fortunate.

Unable to stay on his feet, the mad dragon hit the rock
outcropping with a thud as his sword sailed towards the edge. In a move that
looked like it had been choreographed by a Hollywood stuntman, Kyran dove
towards the sword, slid across the ledge, and grabbed the hilt as the blade
disappeared from sight. In one fluid motion, the black dragon pulled his knees
under his body, sprang to his feet, and spun around while stepping towards
Maddox, ending with the tip of the mad dragon’s sword pointed at his own
throat.

“Well, son of a bitch, you always were a showoff. Now, cut
it out. I’m pissed and bleeding and wondering why the hell I came to save you
in the first place.”

Maddox lifted his hand to move the blade from under his chin.
Kyran growled low in his throat and pushed the blade farther into the mad
dragon’s flesh. A warm, wet stream of blood slid down his throat.

“What the…?” Maddox growled, now more pissed than anything
else. His words were cut off as Kyran jumped forward, pushed the blade farther
into his chin, and snarled, “Shut yer mooth or die, ya’ bastard.”

Looking deep into his old friend’s haunted eyes, Maddox saw
the vacant stare, the total lack of recognition, and tried to quickly come up
with his next move. Kyran was much farther lost down the rabbit hole than the
mad dragon had ever imagined. He was going to have to revise his plan of
talking and convincing. He would not leave him. The black dragon was still one
of their own. Maddox could not and would not give up hope that buried deep
within the wild man standing before him, there was some small shred of the man
he’d once known.

Letting his dragon take the lead, one beast called to the
other. It took a moment but there was flash of recognition, a kinship of souls,
hope that Kyran’s wits were returning. Then, as if a switch had been flipped,
the black dragon of the Phantom’s soul growled, blew smoke, and stomped the
ground - definite signs of aggression. Maddox immediately ordered his dragon to
stand down. Both man and beast lowered their eyes, a sign of submission, and
the mad dragon allowed himself to be forced into the cave at the end of his own
sword.

Setting his pride aside was not a virtue Maddox MacQueen
possessed. He’d been told from the day he took his first steps that pride would
be his downfall, and dammit if his old mum hadn’t been right.

His first clue that something was wrong came when he
attempted to call to Calysta. There was no spark, no return call, not even the
echo of their mindspeak, only the glow of their mating bond to let him know the
connection remained alive and well. It was unusual, to say the least. She was
the powerful Grande Priestess of the Earthen Witches and he was the most purely
magical dragon in a century or better.

At least until Kyran reappeared…

They had been mated less than a month and here he was off on
a fool’s errand trying to save a man who clearly did
not
want to be
saved. If he lived long enough to get home, Calysta was going to kill
him…slowly and painfully, knowing how vindictive his beautiful little witch
could be.

Kyran paced faster and faster. His rantings became louder
and more erratic. He swung Maddox’s sword as if he was striking at combatants
only he could see. The madness Maddox glimpsed within the Phantom while outside
the cave rose to the surface. The glow from his onyx eyes cast a shadow on the
cave walls, making it seem as if the demons of his soul were crawling into the
light.

Attempting to calm the black dragon, Maddox spoke in a low
voice, “Kyran, old boy, you…”

“Stoptar suas,”
the black dragon hissed, pointing the
blade at Maddox’s stomach while facing the front of the cave.

Any other time, the mad dragon would’ve been mad as hell to
be told to shut up, in any language, but the sound of footsteps had him obeying
the shouted command and listening intently. Using his enhanced senses, which
were greatly dampened by whatever magical cloak Kyran had placed over the cave,
Maddox could make out at least ten people, maybe more, all human and still a
good hundred yards away, taking the scenic route to avoid the roughest patches
of the craggy terrain. The few errant thoughts he caught from the group were
filled with hate and vengeance. One even imagined mounting Kyran’s head on a
pike. They had to be hunters, if only from their abundance of disgust for the
dragons and their total lack of magic.

He’s not my favorite person right now either, but I don’t
want him dead…

With no more time for diplomacy, Maddox demanded, “Kyran,
let me down and give me my sword. There are other blades in my bag. We need to
defend ourselves.”

“Demon tost,”
was the Phantom’s snarled reply,
emphasized by a sharp sword jab to Maddox’s midsection.

With no help coming from his unhinged friend, the mad dragon
closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and called upon his dragon. Together, man and
beast poured copious amounts of magic into Maddox’s fingers, forcing the tips
of the dragon’s sharp talons to burst through his skin. Fiery pain tore through
his nerve endings as blood dripped from his claws. Forcing a change with that
amount of magic was dangerous at best and always resulted in injury. But in
this case, was absolutely necessary.

Thankfully, the hunters had Kyran’s undivided attention,
making him miss Maddox’s actions. He lowered the sword from the mad dragon’s
stomach and slowly crept towards the opening of the grotto. He mumbled to
himself, deciding he had a few minutes to plan before the enemy was upon them
since his ‘home’ was at the back of a labyrinth of tunnels that traversed the
inside of the massive mountain. Even if by some stroke of dumb luck the hunters
breached the plethora of magical traps Kyran had set at the mouth of the cave,
it would take a miracle for them to find their way through the maze of the
cavern.

However, since Fate had a sick sense of humor and had
already thrown a monkey wrench into the mad dragon’s plans, Maddox decided he
was going to err on the side of protecting his own ass and began to cut through
the thick jute binding his wrists with the sharp talons of his beast. As soon
as his wrists were free, he slowly lifted his head towards his feet in a kind
of upside-down touch-your-toes move.

Damn, doing this shit is when I realize how old I really
am….

Groaning to himself, the mad dragon grabbed his ankles, cut
the rope and clutched the lava tube with his hands. Slowly stretching his large
frame, happy to be right-side-up again, Maddox hung as still as possible as the
extra blood left his head and the black spots retreated from his sight.

Kyran was out of sight but the mad dragon could see his
shadow while quietly dropping to the ground and creeping on silent feet to his
pack. With his short blade and his serrated edge hunting knife tucked into his
belt, Maddox made his way to the opposite side of the grotto opening. Looking
out with both his enhanced sight and his preternatural perception, he watched
as the black dragon inched along the tunnel wall, disappearing into the
darkness of the cave towards the faint sounds of the hunters holding their
ground where they’d stopped halfway up the mountainside.

Trying once again to speak to Calysta or any of his other
brethren using the mindspeak of their kin, Maddox cursed under his breath when
his calls only echoed back to him. Facing the reality that his only ally was
the deranged dragon before him who’d held him captive and would most likely
stab him along with the hunters, the mad dragon stepped out of the cavern. One
foot in front of the other, he remained almost fifteen feet behind Kyran,
careful not to spook the black dragon or draw attention to himself until it was
absolutely necessary.

Better the devil you know, right? Sounds like bullshit to
me.

But it was all he had to work with, so Maddox stuck behind
his friend and prayed for the best. The closer they got to the mouth the cave
the more prevalent the feel of magic on his skin became.

Guess I missed that the first time around. I was a little
preoccupied, but damn…

Kyran came to a screeching halt. Put his fist in the air as
the universal signal for stop and spoke directly into Maddox’s mind. “
H
ey, Doxie, looks lik' they’ve git th' exit covered.
Any ideas?”

Shaking his head and grinding his fist into the stone wall
beside him to be sure he hadn’t completely lost his marbles, Maddox continued
the black dragon’s delusion by answering,
“They’re not on the ledge. My
guess is they’re scared of us.”
He chuckled for good measure before adding,
“I say we wait ‘em out. Call for reinforcements
.”

When no response came, Maddox feared he’d gone too far, but
he had to try to get Kyran to drop the magical damper long enough to call for
help. Watching the Phantom’s back, the mad dragon waited for any sign that his
old friend was at least partially still in the game. Several tense seconds
later, Kyran replied,
“Na time fur reinforcements. We hae tae defend oor
position, Doxie. Afore th' bastards hae us cornered.”

Before Maddox could open his mouth to give alternate
suggestions, Kyran lifted his stolen sword, gave an exuberant war cry, and ran
towards the exit. Chasing after his brethren, Maddox had to wonder what mortal
sin he’d committed in this lifetime or the last to have Fate screw with him in
such a twisted and totally fucked up manner. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe
in their ability to defeat
any
enemy on
any
terms, it was that
Maddox feared the demented dragon would put in a repeat performance while they
were in the midst of battle, leaving Maddox FUBAR.

Bursting onto the outcropping, Maddox noted the full moon
high in the cloudless sky and the distinct stench of hunter in the air. Their
acrid hate and rotten treachery stung his nostrils. The black of their souls
tainted the usually clear forest air. They were the scourge of the earth, the
foulest humans alive – zealots who used their ignorance to breed hate and
destruction. If he had to go down fighting, it might as well be against the
worst the world had to offer.

Putting his thoughts of Calysta and how he longed to hold
her in his arms one last time to the back of his mind, Maddox called to Rian,
Rory, and Royce. The O’Reilly brothers were the closest thing he had to sons of
his own. He knew he could trust them to help without raising alarm throughout
the clan…especially with his little witch.
“Hey, boys, I need your help.”

“Where the hell are you?”
Rian immediately responded,
his voice stern and ominous.

“Dark Mountain. I’ve…”

“What the hell are you doing there?”
The oldest
O’Reilly brother cut him off, sounding every bit the Leader of the Blue Thunder
Clan.

Before the mad dragon could answer, Rory, the youngest
brother and biggest pain in the ass of them all, snickered,
“Calysta’s on
the war path. You may want to bunk there for a week or two, old man.”

“Shut up, Rory,”
Maddox and Rian growled in unison
before the mad dragon continued,
“Like I was trying to say. I got a lead on
Kyran and came to check it out.”
Maddox knew he was being less than
forthcoming, and was pretty sure they knew it too, but it was not the time or
the place for squabbles.

“Alone?”
Royce grumbled, disbelief loud in his tone.

“Yes, alone, and don’t you start. I don’t need your shit
right now. Just get your asses out here and help. We’ve got a pack of hunters
and nowhere to go.”

“We?”
They all asked as one.
“You found him?”

“Yes, we! Yes, I found him, you dimwits. Now, hurry it up
before we get our asses handed to us.” 

He cut their connection, deciding that the best defense was
a good offense and he’d deal with the fallout of his actions if he lived
through the next half hour. The hunters were just over the ledge, holding their
position at a hundred yards. He verified ten heartbeats – all human. Lots of
fire power and way more silver than he was comfortable with.

Stupid bastards… 

Kyran had been eerily silent since their emergence from the
cave. Needing to see which personality his old friend was sporting at the moment,
Maddox asked,
“You still with me, Ky?”

The Phantom’s response was immediate
, “Nowhere else A’d
waant be.”

Maddox thought about replying with “I can think of a hundred
places I’d rather be” but decided it probably would go over like a fire
extinguisher at a bonfire so he kept his thoughts to himself and asked,
“Whatcha
thinkin?”

“A’m  thinkin’ we need tae split up. Ye tak' th' left.
I’ll tak' th' richt. We come up behind 'n' tak' thaim by surprise.”
It
sounded like a good plan. They’d taken down bigger forces before with only two
Guardsmen. The only unknown was Kyran’s state of mind. Trying to stall, Maddox
pointed to the sky and suggested,
“I say we wait until that cloud covers the
moon. We need total darkness for your plan to work. “

“Aye, guid idea.”

Maddox sighed, hoping the O’Reillys would get there before
the huge dark cloud made it to the big white ball in the sky. He watched Kyran,
perched on the side of the ledge using the overgrown foliage for cover, and
prayed for this version of his old friend to hang around long enough for them
to defeat the hunters and get back to the lair. The mad dragon had no doubt his
lovely mate and Niall, the Elder Healer of their Clan, would be able to help
the black dragon; Maddox just had to get him there.

BOOK: Her Mad Dragon (Dragon Guard Series Book 15)
4.39Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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