Dragon mage the complete.., p.33
Dragon Mage_The Complete Series, page 33
McKenzie pursed her lips. “That we do.”
Alec tossed me the car keys. “Good luck, see you at home.”
“Thanks,” I said, catching the keys.
“You boys coming?” I asked Tavas and James.
Tavas smiled. “I thought you’d never ask.”
James gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, then took the keys from me. “I’m driving. You tell me everything.”
The four of us piled into the car, and within a few minutes of the drive, McKenzie was asleep in the back seat. Surprisingly, I was still feeling alert as I gave James a play-by-play of our adventures.
“A massive spider?” James said.
“It was awful,” I said. “Hey, have you heard of a place called Nowhere?”
“Sure,” James said. “Don’t tell me you wound up in that backward town?”
“Oh yes,” I said, going on to tell him about Moonbeam.
Once we got to the part of the story where Tavas came in, he joined in the telling.
“By the way, thanks for the whole binding thing,” I said. “I really loved having that one in my head.”
"Hey, I can't hear a word anymore, it's absolute bliss," Tavas said.
“It was the only way to make sure he helped you,” James said. “Plus, I figured if he spent some time in your head, there was no way he wouldn’t grow to like you at least a little bit.”
Turning in my chair so I could see Tavas, I smiled at him. “Is that what happened? I was wondering why you hadn’t flirted with me or said anything inappropriate in a while.”
“You can’t prove anything,” Tavas said. “Just being respectful of my best mate’s girl.”
The drive passed quickly, and as the sun was beginning its ascent, we were closing in on Realm’s Gate. An odd feeling of deja-vu passed over me. How many times was I going to be driving home after fighting for my life with James by my side?
With the dragon queen free from her prison, I had a feeling this might not be the last time I did this.
The ward shimmered in front of us as we approached. It was odd seeing it back up and running. The rest of the world had moved on, unaware of anything we'd been through. They didn’t yet know of the destruction and danger that was waiting for us in the coming months as the dragon queen worked to build her followers. But right now, I didn’t want to think about that.
Cold sliced through me as we drove through the barrier, officially back in Realm’s Gate.
“McKenzie,” I said, gently touching her knee.
“Hmm.” The mage pulled her legs away from me, going right back to sleep.
“I’ll wake her,” Tavas said.
“You sure you’re ready to confront the Mage Order?” James asked.
“I have to,” I said. “I can’t let them get away with this.”
“Alright,” he said. “Just show me the way there. I’m behind you.”
“Thanks,” I said.
When we pulled up to the iron gate of the Mage Order, I was surprised to see it was already open. James slowed the car. “Turn here?”
“Yes,” I said, unsure of why the gates were open. “McKenzie, those gates usually open?”
“No,” McKenzie said.
As soon as James turned the car into the long driveway, I knew why they were open. In front of us were several police cars, all parked in front of the mansion that housed the Order. My heart pounded in my ears. Jasmine had said they were keeping dragon mages here. Had more gone missing? Were they hurt? Were the police in on this?
James parked the car. “You sure you want to go in there?”
I already had my seatbelt off. “Why don’t you and Tavas wait here. Give McKenzie and me some time.”
“You have ten minutes,” Tavas said.
“Thanks.” I opened the door and stepped outside, then ducked my head back in. “You’re not so bad, yourself, Tavas.”
Closing the door behind me, I waited for McKenzie to join me.
“You have a plan, right?” McKenzie asked as we made our way to the front door.
“Sure, confront the Order, see how they react, get the remaining dragon mages out of there.” I shrugged. It wasn’t really a plan, but it was all I had.
Just then, Chief Matthias walked out of the open double doors, two police officers behind her. Each of the officers had a handcuffed mage with them.
“Morgan?” the chief called to me.
I lifted my hand in greeting, a sheepish smile on my face. I like the chief, and while I thought she was probably one of the good ones, I had too much distrust of authority figures even to consider calling her. Instead, I was here to deliver my own justice, without any sort of a plan. Seeing her here made me feel slightly foolish. “Hi, chief.”
She shook her head but wore a smile on her face. “I should have known you’d be involved somehow.” Then she turned to the officers behind her. “Get those two in for questioning.”
The police officers led their prisoners to the cars, and the chief walked over to where McKenzie and I were standing. “I’m guessing you figured out that the Mage Order was infiltrated by the Dragon-Bloods?”
“Jasmine’s dead,” I said.
The chief didn’t even flinch. Instead, she narrowed her eyes and nodded. “I had a feeling it went all the way up to her. What happened?”
“We were sent to find the missing mages,” I said.
“There were more?” Chief Matthias asked. “We found six underage mages here. Jasmine had convinced them they were going to die if they left the Order. They’ve since been returned to their families.”
I eyed McKenzie.
“I swear, I didn’t know she was telling them that,” she said.
“Please tell me the rumors aren’t true,” Chief Matthias said. “That they weren’t playing at raising a dead dragon?”
“Short version,” I said. “Yes. And the dragon is back.”
“Shit.” The chief rubbed her eyes. “And here I was hoping things could get back to normal around here.”
“It might be a while before that happens,” I said, wishing it weren’t the case.
“Right.” The chief narrowed her eyes at me. “You know, the Order is going to need new leadership. Someone who has a moral compass that isn’t quite so easily fooled. We arrested most of the leadership today. Several members were caught tampering with surveillance after Jimmy’s murder. And they called the hunters on you.”
It felt like someone was squeezing my insides as her words sunk in. Not only was she confirming the role of the Mage Order in this whole mess, but she was also asking me to step up and be a leader. I didn’t even want to be a member of the Mage Order.
Grabbing McKenzie by her shoulders, I pushed her forward. “Chief, McKenzie is the woman for the job.”
The chief eyed McKenzie, looking her up and down. “Well, I’m not a member of the Order, so I don’t have any say. But I’d guess that in the state they're in, if the two of you make the claim that McKenzie is the one for the job, the rest will follow.”
“Morgan, everything okay?” James called out from behind me.
I turned to see him standing next to the car. The door still open beside him.
Chief Matthias moved closer to me, leaning in and lowering her voice. “Now, I don’t know about you, but if that is what was waiting for me at home, I would get there as fast as I could.” She winked at me, and I felt my cheeks flush.
“You girls get some rest,” Chief Matthias called as she walked toward the waiting police car. “I’ll be in touch soon.”
“She’s got a point,” McKenzie said. “I can take it from here, Morgan.”
“You sure?” I asked, hoping she didn’t ask me to get involved with her quest for taking over the Mage Order.
“I’ve got this,” she said. “And thank you. For everything.”
“Right back at ya,” I said. “I guess some of the Mages in the Order aren’t so bad, after all.”
We said our goodbyes for now, and I headed back to where James was waiting for me in the car. I settled into the passenger seat. To my surprise, Tavas wasn’t in the back seat anymore. “Where’d he go?”
“He had some errands to run, said something about giving us alone time,” James said, leaning in close to me.
“Well, thank you, Tavas,” I said, matching James’s movements and meeting him in the middle for a kiss.
Magic Rising
Dragon Mage Book Three
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters and events in this book are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Published by Illaria Publishing LLC
Copyright © 2018 by Dyan Chick
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover Artwork by Melody Simmons
Created with Vellum
1
James set a steaming mug of coffee in front of me.
I breathed in the aroma and closed my eyes. After a hot shower and a few hours of sleep, I was starting feel like myself again. Was it possible to pretend that none of this happened? That there wasn't a vicious dragon queen on the loose, who wanted to reclaim some long-lost throne?
After a sip of the heavenly beverage, I opened my eyes and set the mug on the white farm table that was nestled in front of the windows in Jimmy's spacious kitchen. My kitchen. I looked up at James from over the top of the mug. "Did you sleep at all last night?"
James shook his head and took a sip from his cup. "Not really."
I had a feeling that was the case. At my insistence, he'd stayed in bed with me. I didn't want to admit that I was afraid to fall asleep by myself, but I was pretty sure he knew why I'd asked him to stay. When I woke up, he wasn't next to me, but I heard the movement of the members of the household and was able to calm myself down before a full-fledged panic attack struck.
"How'd you sleep?" James asked.
"Fine," I said. "Thanks for staying with me."
He leaned over the table and kissed my cheek. "Anytime."
It was nice sitting here at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and pretending that the world wasn't on its way to flaming ruins. But it was make-believe. Soon, we'd have to face the realities of the fact that I'd assisted, without my consent, in the raising of the dragon queen from the dead.
We sat in silence for a few minutes, sipping our coffee. I could hear the sounds of the day all around me as Marco and the others continued to work as if nothing had happened.
Based on what James told me last night, we had time to recover for a day or so before we jumped into saving the world. Part of me wanted to demand that we come up with a plan right now and get it over with. The other part of me wanted to stay here and let the dragon queen be someone else's problem.
The doorbell chimed and I stiffened. We weren't expecting company and any business would know to go to the back entrance. Setting down the coffee, I glanced at James. He shrugged his shoulders but was already pushing his chair back so he could stand.
I followed him out of the kitchen to the hallway where we could get a better view.
Vlad was at the front door, and he stepped aside to let the new arrival enter.
My shoulders sunk when I saw her. Lucy, the youngest of the dragon mages, was supposed to be safe at home. Instead, she was standing in my entryway with tear stains on her dirty cheeks. Had she even been home yet? Had something happened to the girls? My heart pounded in my ears as a million thoughts ran through my mind. I should have checked on them. I shouldn't have trusted Tavas's friend. Then, I remembered that Dima and Alec had called late last night to let me know everyone was safe. They wouldn't lie.
Lucy's lower lip trembled as she looked up at me with her large dark eyes.
I walked over to her and guided her into the sitting room. "Come in, tell me what happened."
She sniffed and plopped down on the couch, resting a dingy bag on the floor. "My mom kicked me out."
"Why?" I asked.
James handed Lucy a box of tissue, then moved over to where I was. He leaned against the armrest of the chair where I sat.
"She says she won't have anyone with my blood in her house." The girl blew her nose into a tissue and sniffed again.
"But the blood comes from somewhere," I said. "Surely your mom knows it's not something you can just wake up with one day."
"Yeah, it came from whatever dude she screwed to get knocked up with me," Lucy said.
James jumped up from the armrest and walked over to Lucy. He covered her hands with his. "I know you're upset right now, but I'm going to need you to calm down."
Smoke circled James's fingers, and I realized the girl was making dragon fire accidentally. Her emotions were out of control, and as I had learned first hand, being a dragon mage made you a bit more dangerous when you weren't able to keep your emotions in check.
"Lucy, look at me," I said.
The girl looked up at me, fresh tears pooling at the edges of her eyes.
"You are welcome to stay with us, okay?" I said.
James slowly removed his hands. "You need to stay calm."
Lucy looked down at her smoldering fingertips and let out a startled squeak.
"It's okay," I said. "Dragon mage thing. Don't worry. I'll help you. But you have got to stay calm and whatever you do, don't think about fire."
Lucy nodded. "Is there something wrong with me?"
"No," I said. "There's nothing wrong with you. Now, come on, I'll show you to your room."
Three steps up, the bell rang again, and I turned to look behind me. Were all the dragon mages going to show up at my door today?
From my vantage point on the stairs, I watched as Vlad opened the door. A tall, curvy woman who looked like an Egyptian goddess stood on my doorstep. Her straight black hair was pulled into a low ponytail, and her eyes were lined with seamless cat-eye eyeliner, making her blue eyes pop even more than they already did in contrast to her tan skin. She wore tight black pants and a leather jacket.
She radiated confidence and finesse. My heart rate quickened as a terrible thought crossed my mind. Please tell me that's not the dragon queen.
As if she could read my thoughts, the woman's eyes fixed on me, and even from my distance, I could see the amber sheen to them. She was a dragon alright.
"I'm here to see James," the woman said.
"Morgan?" Vlad asked, looking at me for confirmation.
James walked into the room, probably at the mention of his name. He froze in the entryway. "Quinn?"
I turned to him. "Friend of yours?"
"Yeah," James looked over at me. "Old friend." He turned to the woman in the doorway. "What are you doing here?"
"Your manners are just as good as ever," Quinn said. "Can I come in?"
Vlad stepped back, out of the way now that James and I were standing in front of the door. Lucy had followed me and was a few feet behind me.
"Please, come in," James said. "How did you find me?"
"It didn't take long to ask a few questions. You two are the hot gossip right now." Quinn pointed at James and me with a long, bronze finger.
I tried not to let her words get to me, but I had to wonder what they were saying about us in town. How much did everyone know?
"We need to talk," Quinn said.
I glared at James. While the kiss in the cave had been the most intimate thing between the two of us, I considered us to be on the relationship track. Perhaps Quinn was the reason why he hadn't made any moves on me.
"Not that kind of talk," James said to me.
Quinn walked into the house, glanced around and then turned to the sitting room. "In here good?"
Feeling annoyed, I headed to the room. "Yeah, it's fine."
Quinn took a seat on one of the formal chairs. She sat like a queen, arms stretched out on the armrests, legs crossed at the ankles. She had a refinement about her that I hadn't seen in anyone under the age of sixty. Who was this woman?
I sat down on the couch, and Lucy plopped down next to me. James stood off to the side. He seemed unable to relax in front of the newcomer.
Lucy leaned closer to me and lowered her voice. "What's happening here?"
I shrugged.
"Quinn, this is Morgan, and this is Lucy," he said, gesturing to each of us in turn. "Ladies, this is Quinn, she's an old friend. An elite."
"Another dragon?" Lucy said, eyes wide.
Quinn smiled. "You seem to be part dragon, Lucy, was it?"
Lucy nodded.
"James, sit down, you stubborn fool," Quinn said.
I turned to see that James was now pacing back and forth. He stopped and narrowed his eyes at the woman. "I can't imagine why I can't relax around you. Maybe it has something to do with the news you brought me last time I saw you."
"Awkward," Lucy murmured.
I let out a slow breath. The tension in the air was thick between the two dragons. Whatever was going on between them was something old and personal, and while my feelings were a tangled mess of hurt and confusion, I knew it wasn't time for me to be childish. I stood. "Lucy, let's give them a few minutes."
Lucy stood. "You're going to leave your boyfriend alone with her? Damn, Morgan, you have some serious confidence."
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Quinn's reaction. Her expression didn't change. In fact, she looked amused by how uncomfortable she was making everyone in the room.
Ignoring Lucy's comment, I gave her a push toward the hallway. "Let's go."
James let Lucy pass, then moved to block my path. "You don't need to go."
"It's fine," I said.
"It's never a good sign when your woman tells you it's fine, James," Quinn said.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at her comment, even if she was right. Fine was never a good thing. My emotions were tumbling through me like a whirlwind. A twisting, turning mass of indecision. James didn't owe me anything. Maybe all the heat I felt between us was lust driving from the fact that we'd been near death every time we were together.
