Soul Of The Dragon (Her Dragon's Bane 1) (8 page)

Was she stupid to feel so excited? Surprises had never worked out well for her in the past, they usually meant hurt and pain. However, Connor was not like anyone else, or at least anyone from her past. He was her future, she could feel it in her bones. It was the way he looked at her, his touch on her skin, he made her happy, an emotion she had lacked for so long. If only she dared tell him about Charlotte, would he help her? Or would he cast her out?

"Ready?"

She eagerly said goodbye to Hope, who had tucked herself up on the bed. Smiling broadly she followed him out of the room. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"No."

"Are we leaving the house?"

"Yes. But not in the way you think," he said as he led her up another staircase.

At first she thought he was taking her to the moon room, where the altar stood, she sighed with relief when, leaving that room behind them, he took another corridor instead. At the end of it, they climbed up what looked like a stone spiral staircase. Rising upwards, it could easily be mistaken for a round tower in a castle. Serena ran her fingers along the uneven walls as they climbed higher. Just when she thought her legs would collapse, they reached the top. Connor opened a trap door made of solid wood, and helped her out.

They were so high up, the dark sky above their head, the moon, already beginning to wane, not quite risen in the evening sky. At this height the breeze was stronger, whipping her hair around her face. She had no idea why they were here. There was nothing except the two of them up there in the open air.

Serena walked to the edge and looked down, it was a tremendous drop, and she felt a little faint looking at the ground, so far below, hoping he didn't intend to throw her over the side. Reminding herself she trusted Connor, she turned to watch him.

Connor looked nervous, shifting uncomfortably as he prowled around. "Are you OK?" she asked, her voice tinged with nerves.

"Yes. I haven't done this for centuries."

"Done what?" she asked, looking around again, there was nothing here. What did he mean?

"Shared myself with a human." He flapped his hands at her, shooing her back. “You need to go right to the edge. And please don't freak out."

"I wasn't intending too. But now I'm a little scared."

"I won't hurt you, Serena. I promise."

"What's going on, Connor?"

"Can't you guess?"

"You mean you're going to ... change?" She stepped back, leaning against the edge of the tower. Had it been specially designed for the dragons to leave from when the house was originally built?

"Just, don't be scared."

Connor went far away from her, and stood still for a few minutes, his eyes closed. Then the air shimmered around him, and she could no longer see him at all. Electricity filled the air, it crackled around the spot where he had stood only moments before. At first she struggled to make out anything, and then a figure formed, and grew. Bigger and bigger, she pressed herself further away from him, but he filled the space between them. He was huge, his great hulking body covered in red scales.

"Oh, shit," she breathed. So this is what Samuel wanted to possess, he was a magnificent beast but how did you control something like this with a drug? The contents of that blue vial must be very potent. "Can I touch you?"

He nodded his head, the big reptile eye watching her as she walked up to him, and stroked him. The scales were dry, and warm to her touch, his body vibrated with the essence of life, this was a beast from before man ruled the earth. Once upon a time he had been the most fearsome creature on the planet, before guns and missiles were made. Large talons tapped the ground when he stepped closer to her, and he rubbed his head against her body, and then pushed her with his snout.

"I don't know what you want me to do," she said, not knowing if he understood her.

Once more he nudged her forward, and tapped his talons on the hard stone. She looked down, and then looked up at his back, her stomach turning over. She realised what he wanted her to do. But it was pure madness.

There was no way she was getting on his back. However, she soon realised he was not going to give in. Nudging her more forcefully, she did as he asked, placing her foot on his leg. Slowly she leaned her body forward, testing to see if she would hurt him, and if he could take her weight. The last thing she wanted was a dragon with a broken front leg.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

He nodded again, she took her life firmly in her hands, and hoisted herself rather unceremoniously up. For a moment she thought she would slip, the fall to the ground looking a real possibility. The dragon helped her, shifting his body to catch her, and then easing back down to his crouching position when she was safely mounted. All she had to do now was find something to anchor herself too. The only available thing was one of his spines, so that would have to do.

"Oh, hell," she shouted as he stood up, and then she screamed loudly when he crouched down and boosted himself off the stone tower, high up into the air.

With the wind tugging at her hair, she clung to him, the only thing that was real as they soared up above the clouds. They raced towards the rising moon, invisible to those below. Up, up they climbed, the air cold, but she pressed as much of her body against his to ward off the chill. Suddenly he tipped forward, and dived headlong towards the ground, only to swoop up again. His wings flapped, a steady rhythm as they covered miles in minutes. The ground below changing from city to town, and then street lights disappeared and the land became dark, with only the odd light visible. Still they travelled, until the air changed, becoming more salty, they were over the ocean.

Serena caught herself grinning. This was freedom in it's purest form, to be able to travel wherever you wanted at a moments notice. No cars, no trains, flight without planes. Incredible. A tilt of his body and they turned, going lower until the tips of his wings touched the water, spraying it up at her. Underneath her he rumbled, and she guessed he was laughing.

"Very funny," she shouted, wiping the spray from her face. The exhilaration of flying, more than enough to combat the chill of the sea water soaking her clothes.

Back up again, he kept on going out to sea, or at least she thought it was further out, she had completely lost her bearings. All she knew was that she was alive, more alive than she had ever been. Looking out onto the horizon, she could see a land mass, a small island growing bigger as they got closer. Connor slowed, flapping his wings slowly, still keeping them in the air before extending his legs and touching the ground.

Serena slid to the ground, stumbling forward and grasping onto him. Her legs were wobbly, and refused to support her. He waited patiently while she stretched out her muscles and got her strength back. After walking around, under his watchful eye, she said, “I’m OK now.”

He walked away from her, and then the air shimmered and he changed back into a man, the whole episode too surreal for Serena to believe.

“I can’t believe what just happened.”

“It’s real. We’re standing on a island miles out to sea. Deserted.” He emphasised the word, and her body chilled.

“Why are we here, Connor?”

“If you want to be safe, we could live here while you bear our child.”

She went to him and stroked his naked skin. “I can’t stay here.”

“Why?”

“You have to take me back, please.”

“I’m offering you a choice, Serena.”

She shook her head. “I can’t Connor. I know you mean well, but it’s not possible.”

“Why did you come to me?”

Only now did the precariousness of her situation strike her fully. If he wanted to leave her here, to keep her prisoner, he could. The only way off this island was with him. That was the whole point of this, not for him to show her his other side, but to force her to do his bidding. Bend her to his will in the same way Samuel always had. She thought she could trust him, and now he had shown his true self.

“I needed the money.”

“Are we back to lying now?” he asked bitterly.

“I don’t know what you want from me, Connor. Does it hurt your ego that the only way a woman would mate with you is for money?”

“I know that there’s more to it than that. What about our child?”

She had no choice, she lied, “There is no child, there never will be.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I might have been a virgin, but I was never going to conceive your child. I took precautions.”

That hit home, he reeled back from her. “You tricked me?”

“Yes. I told you I only wanted the money.”

“You’re lying.”

“No. I’m not. I’m sorry, I truly am, but I’m not in a position to bear your child.”

“It’s not true. I can tell you’re lying.”

“How?” She wrapped her arms round her body. “Listen Connor, I’m trash, I always have been, but I did this for my own reasons. Please, take me back, and I’ll leave. Keep the money, just take me back.” Her vision of happiness with him was broken, they had both lied to get what they wanted, and now all she could hope for was to get back to Samuel and hope he would let Charlotte go, she could offer herself to him instead. She pressed her hand down on her stomach, if there was a child inside her she would trade it for Charlotte, Connor would never know.

He pushed his face close up to hers, and said, “I know you, and I know for whatever reason, you are lying.”

She turned and looked away from him, and then stumbled backwards when he shimmered into the dragon right in front of her. He was formidable at this angle, looming above her, his hot breath on her skin. Screwing her eyes up tightly she prepared for the end, for him to kill her and leave her miserable bones on this island. But that was not his plan.

Damn her. He thought they had got somewhere, that she had learned to trust him, but now she had lied. Or had she? Maybe by removing himself from the human world for so long he had forgotten what they were like. Yet he had believed with all his heart that she was different, was his soul mate. He laughed bitterly to himself.

He should leave her here. At least for a day, and then return tomorrow to see if she had a different tale to tell. But what did it matter, if all she did was lie to him then what was the point.

Crouching down he stood, waiting for her to stand and climb on his back. It took her a full ten minutes to get up and tentatively touch him. Then she clambered onto his back, and he let her struggle, offering no help this time. And even before she was safely in place he leaped into the air and over the seas, feeling the cold spray on his belly.

On his back the drops hitting his scales were different. Serena was crying. He could feel her body as she tried to stifle her sobs, and the warm tears leaked all over his back, her hands too busy holding onto him to wipe them away.

He shook his head, trying to clear the cloud of anger that got in the way of his reasoning. They passed over the ocean and onto dry land, and still he flew, hard and fast for the city. There he circled lower, and came to rest on the place he had sat and watched her being abused so many times.

She stopped crying, and wiped her eyes, and then she gasped. He felt her try to scramble off, but took off again before she could. This time he made sure she didn’t fall, rising high above the clouds before turning for home. Now he flew slower, his wings a slow thrumming as he fought to but his thoughts in order.

He needed to stay calm and let this play out. If she was the woman he thought she was, then she would do the right thing, if not he would need to follow her, and find out who was behind this. She needed his help, he knew it with every fibre of his being. And he would help her, out of revenge. The man who had put her up to this, who had though he could trick a dragon, was a dead man, no matter what happened between him and Serena.

The only question was had he ruined any chance of her trusting him enough to share it with him of her own free will. Or would he have to force it out of her in the end.

Before he had a chance to change, she was off his back and heading for the trap door leading down to the steps. It was heavy and she lost her head start when she couldn’t easily lift it. As she turned to go down the last thing she saw was him watching her. No sign he was going to stop her leaving.

Why did that hurt so much?

Trying to keep herself steady, she went around the steps, lower and lower until she passed the door to the moon ritual chamber. Stopping to get her bearings, she heard the door open above her, and knew she didn’t have the luxury of time. She had to get it right, and not get lost on the maze of corridors.

Running through the doorway she headed in the direction she thought her room lay in, but it all began to look the same, wooden doors leading to other rooms, hallways she was sure she had never passed through. Serena realised she was lost.

Turning back to retrace her steps, she slammed straight into the hard toned chest of Connor. Reeling backwards, she flailed her arms to stop herself from falling. He reached out his hand and grabbed her. Pulling her close, he held her against his chest. “I’ve got you.”

She broke down in huge sobs again, but didn’t have the strength to fight him. “I need you to let me go.”

“Then I will.”

She pulled away from him. “Is this a trick?”

He shook his head. “No, Serena. I trust you. If you think the best thing for you and our child is to walk out of this house, then I won’t stop you.”

“Connor ... I...” There was nothing she could say, it was all such a mess, and she didn’t know what she should do to make it right.

He slipped his hand into hers, and led her to the room where Hope was waiting for her, waiting to be fed. Connor closed the door behind her. “I’ll wait here for you.”

Despite Hope telling her how hungry she was, Serena couldn’t move. What was she supposed to do? Her head whirled and she felt sick, whatever she did would betray someone she cared about. The vial with it’s contents were still a possibility, she could ask Connor to have one final drink with her, fulfil the deal completely and let Samuel have Connor and the child she might be carrying. Or simply leave here and hope the child would be enough. If there even was a child, she was supposed to stay for five days, it had only been two. She could lie to Samuel, stay hidden until the five days were up and convince him to let Charlotte go, in return she would be his captive.