Chapter 20 #2
“No, Kade, please!” She shook him off as the point touched the tender area, and he hit the ground and rolled. His body knew what to do, at least, using the momentum to get him back on his feet.
Ferro barreled toward a tree, but Kade couldn’t see Violet.
His gaze went higher, and there she was, naked and human, climbing a large oak tree like a damned Fire Elemental.
He saw the rope, and another memory flickered through his mind: Jessup swinging from one of those ropes and knocking him unconscious.
Another memory that corroborated what Ferro had told him and contradicted her version.
She clutched the rope, ready to either assault Ferro or get away. Kade sent a bolt of magick at the rope, severing it the moment she started to swing down. She screamed as she fell, hitting the ground hard.
Finally, this was almost over. So why didn’t he feel triumphant? Ferro raced over, throwing a “nice job” his way.
Violet Catalyzed and struggled to get up, but Ferro pinned her with his body.
His tail swished in the dirt, something Kade had seen Dragons do when they were about to go for the kill.
Like a cat when it was ready to pounce. His dark wings stretched out on either side of him, the sign of an ecstatic or triumphant Dragon.
He remembered that.
“Kade, go,” she said, her eyes pleading with him. “He’s going to kill you, too.”
He’s a bad, bad man.
He saw a shard of a white room, of Ferro standing nearby. He tried to hold onto it, but it fell away. All he had was what he knew. Violet had lied, Ferro was his commander, and he was Vega. He followed commands. He killed when necessary.
“She’s trying to play you,” Ferro said. “Just like she’s been playing you since you got here.
” Ferro turned back to Violet, leaning close to her face.
“You have caused me much trouble. Cost me a lot.” He flicked a glance at Kade.
“And now I am going to have the pleasure of killing you while I look in your eyes and taste your fear and sorrow.” Ferro extended one curved claw, nearly three inches long, and aimed for her kill zone. He brought it down slowly, torturously.
Everything Kade knew fled, leaving only what he felt for that Dragon on the ground. The woman she was. Shards reflected memories of holding her in bed. Her Breathing into him, healing him. His need for her, so raw and real. And even now, after he’d attacked her, she was warning him to get away.
He felt…love. Like his heart was going to burst, like he would die with her. That unleashed a flurry of shards in his mind, smashing into one another as though they were caught in a whirlwind, singing like wind chimes.
“Ferro!”
The Dragon jerked toward Kade, who was approaching. “She has caused me a lot of trouble, too. I want to kill her.”
Violet let out an agonized sound, garbled beneath Ferro’s weight.
“No. She’s mine. But you can cut off her head when I’m done if that makes you feel better.”
The dagger filled Kade’s hand as he stepped close, planting his bare foot on her hand. “I suppose that will have to do.” He lowered the dagger as though in deference—and rammed it up into Ferro’s kill zone, twisting it.
Ferro gasped, and his eyes rolled back. Kade kicked him so that he wouldn’t fall on Violet. She spun and moved away.
Something in the air changed, electric and angry.
He swiveled around to face the ethereal image of a Dragon deity.
Only his head was visible, looking into their dimension through a window of sorts.
Kade readied his dagger and his magick, though he’d heard fighting a god was useless.
He moved in front of Violet, blocking her as much as a man could for a Dragon.
She stood mesmerized; he couldn’t blame her. He’d never seen one of the gods either.
The god moved to Ferro, who was gasping, his lifeblood draining out of the wound. He lifted his hand to him, claws curled inward. “Drakos, save me.”
“I warned you not to go after her.”
“I know. I’m…sorry. Save me, and we can kill both of them and be done with this.”
Both of them?
“Your rage and ego have become a liability. I believe I’ll take your power now, before someone else does.”
“But why?” Ferro screamed. “I can gather more power. We need as much as we can get if we’re going to keep you from dying.”
“I was going to kill you and your Carnelian woman anyway.” The words seemed to strike a physical blow on Ferro. “I omitted one detail: gods can’t Breathe in healing power like Crescents can. We take it at your peril. But only when you offer. And both you and Onyx have offered.”
Violet lunged forward, knocking Kade aside and crouching over Ferro. He saw her inhale a fine black mist as she held Ferro down. Her scales glowed, luminescent.
“No!” the god shouted, and Kade readied himself to protect Violet from her impulsive act. Drakos Breathed fiery spikes that petered out once they passed the opening of the window. His Dragon face was contorted with anger and frustration. The window slammed shut so violently that the ground shook.
Kade turned to Violet, who collapsed on the ground, naked and human. The tattoo wrapped around her waist glowed, flashing brilliant colors. Ferro also Catalyzed back to human, something Dragons did upon their deaths. He no longer had his black dragon tattoo on his chest.
Kade dropped down beside Violet, who was taking such deep, gasping breaths that he was afraid she’d pass out. She clutched at his hand, staring into his eyes. “Red…Lust.”
She’d taken too much power at once. Somehow he knew this. It could overwhelm Dragons, sending them over the edge of their humanity. They became engorged with bloodlust. Kade only knew one way to stop it—by killing the crazed Dragon. No, damn it. He would not kill her now.
“Whistle,” she whispered, her body trembling now. Sweat covered her skin, glistening in the dying light. “Help.”
He closed his eyes and searched his fractured memories for what that meant. Whistle. The Fringers whistled, their second language. But he didn’t know how…
Wait, he did. She’d taught him. He shot to his feet and made the sound the way she’d shown him.
The night they’d fought the Carnelian. Another memory clicked into place, pulling at his brain like having his fingernails yanked out.
He whistled again and again, searching the woods for signs of her brothers. Anyone.
She arched, clutching her stomach and groaning.
“Will Catalyzing help?” he asked.
“Have to hold on to human.”
He sat beside her, pulling her into his arms and holding her so tight he could feel her trembling right to his bone. She was hot, her skin damp with perspiration. His nose touched hers.
She had kept him here, sane and whole; he would do the same for her. “You’re an amazing woman, Vee. Watching you fight Ferro, taking the power intended for Drakos, hell, you’re as strong and brave as any Vega I’ve ever known.” She nearly smiled at that, but pain seized her again.
He heard footsteps, saw a flash out of the corner of his eye. Before that could register, two Dragons flew through wide swaths between the trees. They landed and became two naked men in a split second. Ryan and Jessup raced over, their worried gazes on her.
“She Breathed Ferro, to keep the Dragon god from taking his power. It was too much. Ferro has killed a lot of Dragons, one every day for three months.” Kade wasn’t sure how he knew that, but he had a vague memory of seeing a calendar.
Jessup gestured for Kade to step away. He didn’t want to, but he relinquished control. While they Catalyzed and worked on healing Violet, Kade watched and paced. Damn, he was so tense, he saw light flashing out of the corner of his eye.
Flashes. He focused on their origin. Smitty. Hell. The man was perched on a lower branch snapping away with his camera. He’d seen it all, Ferro and Violet and maybe even Drakos.
Smitty climbed down from the tree and took off. Kade raced through the woods after him, catching up quickly. Smitty was terrified, looking behind him, tripping on roots the way people did in horror films. He fell, sprawling out on the ground, and Kade crouched over him.
Smitty rolled to his side and screamed. “Who are you people? What are you people?”
Kade grabbed hold of him by his bony shoulders and waved his hands over Smitty’s bulging eyes. Green light emanated from his palms, washing over the man’s face.