CHAPTER 1 of FOR THE LOVE OF HER DRAGON #7
On the ride back to the lair, she explained in vivid detail everything she had seen in her vision while Devon relayed the information to Rayne and the other Guardsmen, making sure they were ready to head out as soon as she and the guys returned.
She found out along the way that the big dude she’d seen standing next to Royce was his older brother, the leader of his own clan.
Well, hell, she thought to herself, more family to deal with.
Lance went on to tell her that Royce had gone back to the clan of his birth, and for the first time in thirteen days, she knew where he was.
She almost laughed out loud as she thought, Damn, little ole me sent the big ole dragon man running home.
Her levity immediately turned to sadness when she realized he really was running from her.
All those silly little dreams about someone that would love her unconditionally and want nothing more than for her to love him back were bullshit.
Sure, she’d seen firsthand that it could happen.
She thought about Lance and Sam and all the other mated couples she’d met while staying with their clan and knew in her heart it was possible, but for some reason it wasn’t in the cards for her and Royce.
A sadness weighed her down as they rounded the corner and turned onto the barely visible dirt road that led to the dragon shifter’s lair, but Kyra was a fighter.
She had been through worse things and figured worse was still to come, so she shoved her sadness aside.
It was time to show these cavemen what a girl with some magic could do.
Yeah, sure they were bigger, but hadn’t they heard about dynamite in small packages?
Andrew had spent the last two weeks plotting and planning, amassing magic from every source he could find.
It was apparent that Master Eaton and his followers were still doing blood sacrifices from the amount of magic buzzing through them.
He could see their dark, glowing auras and was sure they could light up a small city.
Thankfully, John had located a Siphoning Spell that allowed him to pull a little from each wizard within close proximity without detection.
For the first time, he had more black magic flowing through his body than he could ever remember, and unlike before, his newly acquired power did not snuff out his dragon senses.
On the contrary, the beautifully pure dragon magic seemed to simply avoid the taint of the dark, almost like the two polar opposite powers had decided to coexist within him.
He’d always been told he would possess extraordinary abilities because he had been born a “Special One”.
The ancient text John had acquired for him confirmed it and had only strengthened his resolve to do whatever it took to exact his revenge.
The text was written in the old language, but thankfully, he and John had found another book that helped with the translation.
The more he learned, the more fascinated he became.
Just yesterday he had translated the beginnings of the Prophecy.
He was intrigued when he recognized the word ‘sorceress’ and couldn’t wait to learn more.
He finished packing his supplies just as a knock at the door sounded outside his wing of the mansion he shared with Master Eaton, Mr. A, and a handful of their followers.
When he had first decided to move in with the leader of the most powerful wizards in the country and the State’s Attorney-turned-crime boss who specialized in human trafficking, he’d had his doubts, but with the help of his right-hand man and some very handy surveillance equipment, they were making great headway towards achieving his plans for revenge.
“Come in,” he called out, knowing it was Andy, one of Master Eaton’s favorite wizards, from the beat of his heart and the smell of bacon on his clothes. Andy had been appointed the unofficial cook of the mansion, and it seemed bacon was always on the menu.
The door opened, and the small round face with puffy pink cheeks he was expecting came into view.
“Good morning, Mr. O’Brien. Master Eaton wanted you to know that everyone is loaded and the jet is scheduled to take off in two hours,” the small chubby wizard spoke without ever once meeting Andrew’s eyes.
Poor little man was scared shitless, and Andrew loved every damn minute of it.
Wielding the power he possessed was intoxicating, and knowing that by tomorrow, at this same time, one of the men he held responsible for all he had endured would be removed from the earth and sent to the Heavens where he belonged.
It was a shame that the others wouldn’t be there to see it happen, but that couldn’t be helped.
He needed to strike while the iron was hot and prove to himself, along with everyone else, that he could take down a dragon shifter.
Hell, they all doubted their existence and thought he was insane.
Wouldn’t they shit their pants if he revealed they already knew one…
him? He laughed to himself as he followed Andy down the corridor and out the front door to one of the fifty or so black SUVs the crime boss owned.
He rode to the private airfield in silence, thankful the others had agreed to let him ride alone, save the driver.
Thinking over his plan, he made sure every ‘I’ was dotted and every ‘T’ crossed.
There would be no second chance. They had to get in, destroy the Blue Thunder Clan, and get out without a trace.
It would be the one time he would be able to strike without any warning.
Ever since Kyra had been captured by the Guard all those months ago, he had been keeping the last Cloaking amulet powered up with an infusion of dragon magic and black magic.
Several times he’d had John scry for him to be sure it was working.
He had to believe it was the purity of his returning dragon magic that kept it going.
The little witch had mentioned that he had bastardized her Earth magic, creating something altogether different and unknown.
He knew he should feel bad for deceiving her after all she had done to help him, even if he had lied through his teeth to get what he wanted.
But knowing that she had taken up with the Dragon Guard against him eliminated any guilt he felt.
Pulled from his thoughts when the SUV stopped, he gathered his things and climbed out onto the abandoned airstrip.
There, sitting before him, was the luxury jet Mr. A had ‘acquired’ on a recent ‘business trip’.
Andrew had absolutely no idea where the known crime boss and basic blight upon the earth went for his business, or what exactly occurred there, but as long as it got Andrew what he wanted, he would continue to turn a blind eye and reap the benefits.
“Welcome, Mr. O’Brien,” Adrienne, a cute young brunette with deep blue eyes who served as Mr. A’s executive assistant, chirped as he stepped onto the charcoal gray carpet leading the way to the stairs into the plane.
“Hello, Adrienne, and thank you,” he absently responded, while another of the hundreds of lackeys the mobster seemed to always have available relieved him of his bag.
Unsure whether he should let something so important out of his sight, he held onto the handle for just a beat and then decided he didn’t want to call too much attention to his supplies, so he said, “Please make sure that is stowed over my seat.” The young man nodded his understanding and preceded Andrew up the steps.
“Have a safe trip, Mr. O’Brien. See you when you return,” Adrienne called out as he entered the plane.
Not for the first time, he wondered how Adrienne, a sweet girl, had gotten mixed up with such a horrible man, but quickly decided he was no one to judge and didn’t care.
She was a grown adult and not his to worry about.
The little human was of no consequence to his plans and therefore expendable.
However, that did not mean he wouldn’t mess with her mind for fun.
And just to show himself he could, he looked over his shoulder and smiled, pleased to see her blush at his attention.
He shrugged. Maybe he could find a way for her to be useful somewhere down the line, if for nothing more than to look at.
All thoughts of silly young girls flew from his mind at the first glimpse of the empty plane before him.
His face must have mirrored the questions in his mind because the young man that had carried his bag onto the plane answered his unspoken inquiry, “Mr. A and Master Eaton were delayed and will be here momentarily. Can I get you a drink and some hors d’oeuvres? ”
“No, thank you. I’ll just grab a seat and read while I wait,” Andrew responded, less than thrilled at the delay.
Not only was it terribly inconvenient, not to mention rude, to be left sitting and waiting, but he detested the fact that they were out doing something he knew absolutely nothing about.
He trusted no one, least of all his ‘partners’.
It was obvious none of them told the other two the whole story or the whole truth about anything they did or their ultimate goal.
Each man had his own agenda and would do whatever it took to grab the prize at the end of their respective journeys.