Page 9

Mac stumbles slightly, then drags his hand through his hair. He clears his throat, peering through the darkened ruins.

“Can dragons see well in the dark?”

Mac looks over his shoulder at me, nodding as his eyes glow emerald. “Perfectly.”

“There he is. Such a handsome boy. I’m curious though. Do you choose your human appearance?”

“No. We grow into it over time, and when we fully mature, our adult features settle in.”

“Fascinating.”

“Do you choose yours?”

“Yes.” I smile, stepping over a large rock. “I can change my appearance to meet the societal standards of the time, and I chose my human form based on a singer I saw long ago.”

He chuckles. “It’s a good look.”

“Thank you.” I preen a bit. At least he finds me appealing.

“I guess we should look for the amulet.”

I nod, gazing ahead. “There’s only one standing structure. There.” I point. “At the end of the path.”

There’s a small stone house with a dim light in the window. Mac heads in that direction without hesitation.

“Does anything frighten a dragon?”

“Disappointment,” he mutters, but I heard it.

“Yours or causing someone else’s?”

He huffs and a tendril of smoke rises above his head. “The second one. My older brothers are rock stars in my parents’ eyes. They do everything well. It’s hard growing up in their shadows.”

“Are they famous musicians?”

He chuckles. “Not actual rock stars, just really good. They have a business, and they help people. They have these incredible homes and they’re really tight with each other. I never bonded with my clutch like they did with theirs.”

“You’re close to them?”

He shrugs. “Not close, but they’re always there for me. Dragons are born in clutches, you know?”

“A cluster of eggs.”

“Right. I have four others in my clutch but we’re all off just doing our things.

Lord, the oldest brother of the other clutch, says they were like that when they were younger too, and someday, I’ll want to settle down and be close to family.

I can’t see it, but Lord’s always right, so I believe him. ”

“Mm. I’m very curious what caused you to call on Auri when you have such family support. Is your problem something only a demon can solve?”

“I don’t even know.” He slows, pausing and glancing around. “I’ve gotten myself into a lot of trouble over the years, and I guess I didn’t want to call them for help and…” His words trail off as he shrugs again.

“Disappoint them.”

I know I’m right from the way the bond pulses between us.

“You can’t disappoint me, Mac. I accept you as you are because you chose me. You wouldn’t have chosen me if I wasn’t your ideal mate and you mine. That’s just how fate works.”

Even in the dark I see the glimmer in his dragon eyes as he gazes at me. “You’re a very good soul, Drax.”

I smile, reaching for his hand. “So are you, my lovely mate.”

Up ahead, the sound of creaking wood floors breaks the silence. Scales ripple across Mac’s flesh and he grips my hand tighter.

“Come on,” he whispers.

We creep through the dark towards the stone house, and when we reach it, the door is already cracked open. Mac pushes the old wood door, and it creaks, revealing a tiny room with a fire going in the fireplace. Next to it is a rocking chair with a human sized shape bundled up in it.

“Hello?” Mac says, stepping toward the chair.

The chair continues rocking, ominously slow, and Mac gazes back at me with nervous, very human eyes.

“Excuse me,” Mac tries again. “Are you Belinda Legarr?”

The chair stops rocking and the huddled body stirs. I hurry to the other side, ready to insert myself if needed to protect my mate. Mac reaches out and carefully pulls back the hood covering the person’s face.

He gasps, stepping back slightly, but I stare at the sunken face. I’ve only seen one other human kept alive by pure magic alone, and I personally don’t see the appeal. It’s not like a vampire, who is frozen in time. You continue to age, you simply won’t die.

The woman stares ahead with clouded white eyes, her mouth frozen open. Soft, shallow breaths appear like tiny clouds in front of her lips. She claws at her chest with scrawny fingers, leaving streaks of blood on her flesh. In the center is a large oval patch of skin, unaged and blemish free.

“Mac.”

“Where is your amulet, Belinda?” Mac asks.

She twitches her head in his direction, and I wonder if she can even hear us.

“I think I can help.”

“How?”

“I’m a demon, Mac. We do have some abilities, you know.” I brace myself for what I’m sure is about to be a negative experience.

I kneel before the old, dying witch. My nose twitches as the scent of death spreads through her, taking her centuries-old organs with it.

Lifting my hand, I carefully place it over the patch of clear skin on her chest, stopping her from scratching anymore, and I’m accosted by the shrieking screams she’s no longer able to make aloud.

In my mind I see the woman she was ages ago, middle-aged but somewhat pretty, strong and bright-eyed. She’s screaming at me, begging for death to hurry and take her.

Where is your amulet?

Taken! A mage broke the magic. Where is Death? Why make me suffer? Take me, please. Please. Please.

I try to remove my hand, but the witch grips my wrist with surprising strength.

Take me with you, demon. End my torture. Days upon days, nights upon nights, Death ignores my pleas.

I’m not that kind of demon.

Please!

I’m pulled backward into the comforting arms of my mate and the shrieking in my head stops. Shivering, I take a moment to ground myself.

“Are you okay?” Mac asks, searching my eyes. “What happened?”

“Her mind works but her body doesn’t. She’s still alive for some reason but desperately wants to die. She said a mage took the amulet.”

“A mage? How will we find out who that is? Fuck. Auri’s never gonna let me go.”

I tilt my head. “Auri was never going to let you go anyway. Didn’t you know that? You make a deal with him, it’s eternal.”

“No,” Mac says, his voice harsh. “He said if I did the task…” His words trail off. “I don’t remember exactly, but I’m sure he said he would help.”

“He will help, but did he say he would release you?”

Mac’s jaw drops.

“Anyway, I’ll try with the witch again. See if she knows the mage.”

He nods, absentmindedly staring off into space.

Approaching Belinda again, I search my mind for any demon I might call upon who could ease her transition. I’m no friend of Death, and even if I was, I’m not calling them.

I place my hand on her chest again to find that she’s still screaming relentlessly into the void.

Who stole the amulet, Belinda?

Stake my heart. That might work. Please. Mercy!

I will summon help for you if you help me too. Who is the mage who stole your amulet?

Breathing hard, she claws at her hair. Rune. His name is Rune.

Thank you. I’m sorry this happened to you. I’ll call for help.

Please.

Removing my hand, I take a few breaths and close my eyes, summoning a chaos demon who spends most of his time in the human realm.

Clovias.

I repeat his name in a chant, searching through the mental concert of various demons until I feel the summoning tug and his slight annoyance as he appears in the tiny stone cottage, startling Mac.

“What do you want with me, demon,” Clovias asks, his voice snippy and tense. “I was in the midst of a sing-along.”

“Sorry to interrupt your fun. You were the only one I could think of to help.”

“Help what?”

I gesture to the almost dead woman in the chair. “She’s dying and begging for help to transition.”

“So, kill her then.”

I huff. “Quit being an ass. If I could have done that, I would. She’s being kept alive by magic. The magic was stolen. Her body is nearly dead, but her soul is very much stuck here.”

Clovias looks amused as he approaches the rocking chair. He’s in human form, tall and dark skinned and dressed in a stylish white suit, his head shaved. Very nice.

He puts his hand on her chest and steps back with a surprised yelp. “Oh dear. She suffers greatly.”

“Yeah.”

“Who is this?” Mac asks.

“A friend. To help Belinda transition.”

“And who are you?” Clovias asks in a far too flirty tone, flicking his demon tongue out to wet his lips.

“My mate . So, eyes off.”

“Hmmpf. That’s why you smell like that.”

Mac wrinkles his nose, sniffing his armpit.

“Clovias, can you help?”

“Of course I can help. The problem is a hint of the magic still lingers in the cottage. It’s apparently enough to keep her alive. Are you sure you want her to die? As soon as I intervene, she will cease.”

“We need to know the mage’s name,” Mac whispers.

“I got the name.” I turn to Clovias. “Please.”

Belinda weakly grasps for my hand, dragging it to her chest.

Thank you, demon. May your soul be blessed with riches.

It has been. Be well on your journey, Belinda.

I move back as Clovias puts his hand on her forehead, muttering a chant in the language of the underworld, and I protectively pull Mac toward me.

The old witch gasps as her body rattles with its final moments of life. She literally disintegrates before our eyes as her soul rises like a bright creamy light, slipping through the cracks of the floor.

“She’ll be met on the other side,” Clovias says, gazing up as dust falls from the ceiling. “Oh dear. Apparently, the magic was keeping this structure up too. We should go.”

The three of us barely make it through the door as the house crumbles around us. The last of the village of Belinda Legarr lies in ruins at our feet.

“Thanks for helping, Clovias.”

He nods, still looking too hard at Mac. I growl, stepping in front of my mate.

“I’ve heard of your kind ways before,” Clovias says. “Yet you’re part of Auri’s compound. How interesting.”

“Don’t believe everything you hear.”

Clovias chuckles. “I never do.” He snaps his fingers and flickers out of sight.

When I turn to Mac, he’s chewing on his bottom lip. “Now what?”

“Now we find ourselves a thieving mage named Rune.” I squeeze his hand. “More adventures. Come now, mate. We have research to do.”