Dragon Ascending (Zodiac Dragon Brotherhood #1)
Prologue
Fontaine Saint-Michel, Paris, France
A merican photographer Lucy Vale adjusted her camera case on her shoulder, annoyed to find herself alone in front of the Fontaine Saint-Michel. She glanced at her watch. Four in the morning, as instructed. If her client weren’t an eccentric billionaire who’d prepaid in cash for this shoot, she’d never have taken this job. But when a man offers you four times your regular rate plus a free trip to Paris for a super-secretive one-hour gig, it’s hard to say no.
Still, it annoyed her—the hour, the lateness, the entitlement.
She groaned when she finally spotted him walking toward her under the streetlights, the only thing moving aside from the occasional car zipping along the boulevard. The plaza was oddly silent, although she didn’t frequent Paris enough to know if that was common at this hour .
As he strode closer, she recognized him from his picture. Pictures actually. And videos. That was the thing about running a global empire, she supposed. He’d spent his share of time under the microscope of journalists everywhere.
But then she glimpsed his outfit. Shook her head. Not what they’d agreed to by a long shot. “Have you brought a change? Your dark clothing will get lost in this light. I’m not a miracle worker.”
“I know what you are, Lucy.” A jagged blade appeared in his hand, lighting up and casting an otherworldly blue glow between them.
“What do you have there?” Lucy glanced between the sculpture of the archangel Michael vanquishing the devil that formed the pinnacle of the Fontaine and the prop in his hand. So that was it then. This was to be a nerdy fantasy-world thing. “Oh, like the statue! Well, we can try it, but at this hour I can’t guarantee I can achieve the results you’re looking for.”
He reached her, his lips drawing back off his teeth in a chill-inducing smile. A smile that made Lucy’s skin tighten and her deepest instincts compel her to run. But it was too late for that.
His gloved hand closed around her throat, cutting off her scream.
“Oh Lucy, I guarantee you will provide exactly the results I’m looking for.”