Chapter 5
His feet had barely touched the ground of the lair of his clan when out of nowhere, Rian was body slammed by an extremely pissed off, most definitely crazy-as-hell, Maddox MacQueen.
The supremely angry dragon screamed like a banshee while sitting atop the Dragon Leader and bombarding him with punch after punch about the head and chest.
“You worthless piece of donkey shit,” Maddox howled as his fist connected with the bridge of Rian’s nose. “I should run you through with a silver blade. You…you…”
Maddox’s assault was cut short as Kellan and Rory lifted him off Rian while trying to avoid his flying fists.
No sooner had the mad dragon’s feet touched the ground than he was once again lunging for the eldest O’Reilly brother, screaming obscenities and promising vengeance.
Royce stepped in to help corral the crazy one and suffered a fat lip for his trouble.
Rian got his feet; the remorse for his actions hurting far worse than the bruises he’d received from Maddox.
Looking at his long-time friend and then the crowd that was gathering on the outcropping they’d landed upon, Rian knew he had a lot of explaining to do.
Brushing the dirt from his pants as he retrieved his handkerchief to stem the flow of blood from his bloody nose, the Dragon Leader noticed movement in the bystanders.
Pushing through the crowd were Stefan and Marcas, looks of confusion and disappointment etched into their expressions.
And the hits just keep coming. Nothing I don’t deserve.
“Take him to my quarters and have Niall sedate him if necessary. We’ll accomplish nothing with him screaming like a lunatic,” Marcas, the Elder in charge of the Guard, instructed Kellan and Rory.
Then to Royce, he said, “See what you get for trying to be the hero. So like your father.” Shaking his head, he finally turned to Rian. “And you…why did you have to get all of Ronan’s bullheaded stubbornness. He couldn’t have spread it around, huh?”
Not sure what to say, Rian simply stood and stared at the two Elders, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
After several long, tense seconds, Stefan spoke, but it was with the voice of an uncle, not an Elder.
“I am guessing there’s a decent explanation for what has transpired.
All I’ve heard so far is Maddox’s side and quite frankly, I only understand a quarter of it.
He was ranting on and on, switching between English, Gaelic, and Latin so many times I was lost. Go clean up and we’ll meet you in the Cave of the Ancients in thirty minutes. ”
Rian nodded his understanding and turned to leave just as Royce spoke up. “Stefan? Marcas? I would request to join Rian.”
“As would I,” added Brannoc. “Rory and Kellan would also like to be there, please.”
Spinning on his heels, Rian didn’t hide his shock as he looked at his younger brother and then his old friend. Once again, he was amazed they were supporting his madness instead of kicking his ass.
Thanking the Heavens for his good fortune, the Dragon Leader turned and started towards the Cave of the Ancients. He figured there was no reason to go down the mountain simply to turn around and climb it again for his meeting with the Elders.
“You in a hurry to be told you fucked up?” Royce asked as he jogged up beside him.
“No, just ready to get this crap over with and get to my mate. You heard Adramelech laughing when he pulled Audrey back to hell. He’s a sadistic son of a bitch. I wouldn’t put anything past him. It’s been just over twelve hours and I can’t imagine what he’s putting her through.”
“I’m so sorry, Ri. I wish you would’ve let us help you.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. Hindsight’s twenty-twenty.
You have no idea how many times I thought about telling at least you and Rory, but something always stopped me.
Even with the book, I had no idea what or whom it was talking about.
Neither did Eleanor and Elmer. It wasn’t until we found Drago and that bloody stone that it all started to make sense.
I finally knew who the dragon was, where he was, and what a Focus Stone was.
I was going to tell Audrey when I summoned her but then y’all showed up. ”
“Yeah, about that…”
Rian could hear the regret in Royce’s voice, feel it in the air around them.
So much so that he cut off what his brother was about to say.
“You have nothing to be sorry about. This is all on me. Y’all we’re only doing what you thought was right.
Besides, it happened too fast. Adramelech knew before you got there.
It was bound to happen. I mean, Audrey’s kept it hidden from him for all these years.
It’s my fault that I didn’t get her out of there soon enough. ”
Royce’s hand on his shoulder helped but his words meant so much more. “We’ll get your mate, Ri. Don’t you worry about that. Hell ain’t got nothing on the O’Reilly boys.”
Chuckling as they reached the Cave of the Ancients, Rian added, “Well, first I have to survive this,” he motioned to the cave entrance, “and then there’s Maddox.”
It took Royce a few seconds to answer, and when he did, Rian could only groan. “Yeah, and true to form, our younger brother has opened his mouth before engaging his brain. I just heard from Rayne. Lance is already in dragon form with Sam on his back. Guess they’ll be here by nightfall.”
“And it just keeps getting better and better,” was all the Dragon Leader could say as he entered the Cave of the Ancients for what he prayed was not the last time.
Three hours later and feeling like they’d been through the ringer, the O’Reilly brothers, Kellan, and Brannoc exited their meeting with the Elders.
The questioning had been excruciating. They went over every detail multiple times in multiple ways to be sure Rian was holding nothing back.
Turns out, they’d allowed Royce and the others to be there as character witnesses.
Stefan wanted to be prepared. Thank the Heavens it was not necessary.
As it stood, Rian was still the Head Elder of the Blue Thunder Clan; something he was sure several hours ago he would no longer have.
Even better, he had the full support of the other three Elders and the entire Dragon Council to enter hell, rescue Audrey and Kayne, and kill the Demon Lord known as Adramelech.
The five warriors walked along in silence until Rory said, “When you gonna talk to Maddox?”
Never one to miss an opportunity to mess with his little brother, no matter what was going on around them, Rian answered, “Well, since you couldn’t keep your mouth shut, I guess I’ll wait for Lance and talk to them both at the same time.
And while I’m thinking about it, how did Madman Maddox know I was coming? ”
“Who knows?” Rory was quick to answer. “I sure as hell didn’t tell him. I don’t talk to him unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“When he was just about to fall asleep from the sedative, Maddox said something about hearing a voice from below, but the old man hears voices all the time so your guess is as good as mine,” Kellan added, never looking up.
Stopping, Rian shook his head. “Who knows? Who cares? He’s here and I have to deal with him. But first, I need to go see Drago. Unless, you saw fit to tell him, as well.” He punched Rory in the arm as they resumed their trek to the lair.
“No, I didn’t.” Rory’s petulant tone reminded Rian of all the times he and Royce had caught their youngest brother tattling to their parents when they were kids.
Rory went on explaining, “And telling Lance was well...kind of an accident. He hollered at me while we were corralling Maddox for Niall. Wanted to know something about Call of Duty, the game we play on Xbox Live…Anyway, it just popped out that the old fart was trying to kill you for stealing the Focus Stone and had to be sedated. I didn’t even think about it until Lance yelled. Then I kinda…well…I had to…”
“You had to spill your guts. Yeah, we know,” Royce finished his younger brother’s sentence.
“Yeah, well…”
“Shut up. Let’s go get something to eat. I’m starving. Then I’ll go see Drago,” Rian commanded with a smile on his face.
“Aye, aye, Captain,” Brannoc chuckled while bringing up the rear of the group.
Thank the Heavens Royce had called ahead to Kyra and she had every variety of breakfast imaginable cooked and waiting when they descended upon the couple’s cottage.
Rian couldn’t remember how long it had been since he’d eaten, but the smell of food made his stomach growl and his mouth water.
Brunch was his absolute favorite meal. They all ate like they hadn’t seen food in days, not stopping until every dish, platter, and plate was licked clean.
“Guess y’all were hungry, huh?” Kyra laughed as she set the second pitcher of iced tea on the table. “I’m gonna have to go to the grocery again if y’all are gonna be around for dinner.”
Rian laughed aloud as she asked a question without really asking and looked at her mate with raised eyebrows.
Unable to resist the temptation to tease his brother’s mate, the Dragon Leader cleared his throat and teased, “You mean you cut off your mindspeak with your mate while we were with the Elders, Roy? Shame on you.”
Backhanding his brother across the shoulder, Royce quickly answered, “You know damn good and well the Cave of the Ancients is warded so we can’t use mindspeak in there.
Stop stirring up trouble, dumbass!” Then to his mate, he said, “Rian’s just being a jerk.
I was waiting to tell you what happened in person. ”
“Well?” Kyra walked around the table and sat down in the chair next to Royce. “Spill.” She waved her hands in a hurry up motion, crossed her arms over her chest, and sat waiting, not so patiently from the tap of her foot on the tile floor that grew incessant with every beat.