Dragon mage the complete.., p.50
Dragon Mage_The Complete Series, page 50
Tavas relaxed his grip but I was afraid to let go.
"Did we do it?" I asked.
"We did it," he said.
Exhausted, I finally let myself give in to my protesting body and fell to the ground.
31
Vibrations woke me and I opened my eyes slowly to find myself sitting in the back row of the Mercedes SUV.
My lower lip trembled as I looked down to see my bare legs. Someone's overly large tee-shirt was my only clothing. At the moment, I didn't really care that my clothes appeared to be missing. I was just so happy that I wasn't a dragon.
"Welcome back," James said.
I looked over at him. We were alone in the back seat. In front of us, Dima, McKenzie, and Alec smiled back at me. Lucy was leaning against the window, eyes closed. Her breath creating a fog on the window. I wondered if she was asleep on her own or if McKenzie had used a spell to put her to sleep.
In the front of the vehicle, Quinn was driving and Tavas winked at me from the passenger seat.
Most of my friends looked like they'd taken a beating. Their faces were bloody and covered in dirt. Their clothes were black from soot and torn in places. Dima's hair looked like it had been burned badly. But they were alive.
"She's speechless," Alec said. "How is that possible?"
I laughed as tears streamed down my cheeks.
James brushed my hair away from my eyes. "How are you feeling?"
"I can't believe I'm alive," I said. "I can't believe I'm not a dragon."
"Do you remember it?" James asked. "Tavas said you might not remember."
I glanced up at the Fae in the front of the car. He looked at me with a serious expression he seemed to reserve for me. It was as if he was giving me an out. If I didn't want to talk about it or explain it, I could simply tell the others I didn't remember what happened. Or maybe it was that he didn't want James to know that we'd be stuck with this connection until we found another way to help me.
After everything Tavas had done for me, I felt like I owed it to him to tell the truth. We were in this together, after all. "I remember everything. Except for how I came to be in this tee-shirt."
"Um," Dima's cheeks flushed, "you were sort of naked when Tavas brought you to us."
My eyes widened as I imagined Tavas carrying me without any clothes on.
"It takes a lot of practice to get your clothes to shift with you," James said.
I covered my face with my hands. All of my friends saw me naked.
"It was really dark though," Dima added.
"Yeah, we didn't see any details," Alec said.
"Not helping, Alec," Dima said.
James wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me up against him. He kissed the top of my head. "All that matters is you're here and you're safe."
I dropped my hands from my face and looked up at him. "But we failed. We lost the weapon. We have nothing to stop the dragon queen. She's still going to come after us, even if she lost her lackey."
"I wouldn't say we have nothing," Quinn said. "We have three dragons."
"And we have the Mage Order," McKenzie said.
"And every vampire who owes Jimmy a favor," Alec said.
"The dragon queen doesn't stand a chance," Dima said. "As long as we keep you two," she pointed at me and James, "and the other dragon mages alive, she's got weaknesses."
"That's right," McKenzie said. "We regroup, and we bring the battle to her."
"You think we can take her?" I asked James.
"We have something she's never seen before," he said.
"What's that?" I asked.
"We have a dragon who can cast mage spells," he said.
"Plus, we have mages with dragon blood who want to help," Dima said.
McKenzie held something out to me. "I've been carrying this around with me, just in case."
I took the object from her and realized it was my mother's journal. With everything that had been going on, I never had a chance to look through it. But if I could learn some of the magic that was available to me as a hybrid, a mage with dragon blood, maybe it could turn the tides.
I clutched the book to my chest. "Let's go de-throne a queen."
<<<<>>>>
Magic Returns
Dragon Mage Book Four
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
The smell of coffee hung in the air as we sat quietly flipping through the pages of my mom's journal. James took a sip of his drink, then set it on the table, the sound momentarily breaking the silence of the room.
"It doesn't make any sense," I said, turning to James. "There's nothing in here that looks like it will help us with the dragon queen."
He picked up the book and flipped back a few pages. "I don't know. Some of this might be of use."
"What were you hoping you'd find?" McKenzie asked from her seat across from us.
I looked up at her, surprised to feel overwhelmingly grateful for her being there. Despite the fact that she wasn't a dragon, and the fact that only two people could look at the book at a time, she'd hung out with us while we searched. Of all my friends who'd been on this crazy journey with me, she was the one with the most similar powers to myself. She didn't have the dragon blood, but being a mage made her a big help.
"I'm not sure, to be honest," I said. But that wasn't true. I knew what I'd been looking for. I wanted a way to control my shifting.
Tavas had said in order to shift in or out of dragon form, I'd need his help until we could find another way. I hadn't specifically brought up that my hope was to find some clue as to how to do that in this book because in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't that big of a deal. I mean, how important was it to learn how to control my shifting if the dragon queen just killed me in the end? Clearly, there were more important things to deal with right now.
"This spell looks like it'll be helpful," James said, turning the pages toward me.
I looked at the neat handwriting and the sketches included on the pages. "Ice fire?"
"It looks like you could use it to freeze oncoming fire," James said. "So it wouldn't be on your own fire, but it could prevent an oncoming attack."
I rubbed my eyes. We'd been at this for hours. None of us knew how long we'd have before we needed to take action. As it was, we'd already been locked down at my house for two days since failing to get the weapon and destroying the dragon queen's second in command.
Our only hope was that the loss of Dr. Byers was a serious blow to the dragon queen. Without him, she'd have to lick her wounds and come up with a new plan. I seriously hoped this one didn't involve finding someone else who could control giant bugs. If I never saw another giant spider in my life, I could die happy.
The thought made me wince. Since the dragon queen's rise, my death was a very real possibility. In the very near future. And I didn't like that idea one bit. I wanted to live, even if it was as a dragon.
The only thing we knew, was that we were on a ticking clock and none of us knew when it would zero out. "We have to figure out something. We can't stay here waiting for her to come to us," I said.
"We're not ready to charge in and attack her," McKenzie said. "You know how much I want this to be over. And you have the full support of the Mage Order, but we have to be smart."
"She's right," James said. "We don't even know where she is so if we go looking for her, we could end up in an ambush situation if she's got spies on us."
I took the book from James and set it on the table. "Fine. Then we have to at least start doing something."
"Like?" McKenzie asked.
"Like learning the spells in this book." I gestured to the abandoned journal, then stood. "In fact, that's exactly what we are going to do."
I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nearly noon. "McKenzie, can you find Lucy, Lyla, and Joanna? We're going to start dragon mage training."
McKenzie jumped up from her seat. "About damn time."
"That's a great idea," James said. "But what about the other thing?"
My shoulders sunk. I knew exactly what he was talking about. He wanted me to practice shifting. I still hadn't told him exactly how Tavas had helped walk me through getting back into my mage form. And I hadn't told him that Tavas was still inside my head.
Since we got back from Nowhere, we'd been so busy getting everyone cleaned up and healed, there hadn't been time to talk. I slept for twelve hours that night and spent the next whole day in a blur. Today was the first day I was beginning to feel like myself again and I didn't want to think about being a dragon again so soon. Plus, I wasn't sure I could shift back to a mage if I left this form.
"I don't know," I said. "I don't think I'm ready."
"You're going to have to learn it eventually," James said.
"I know," I said. "But right now, I'd rather just be me for a while longer."
He nodded. "Okay. But don't put it off too much longer."
"Dragon mages reporting for duty," Lucy said as she entered the sitting room.
I smiled at her. She was the youngest of the group and had been through hell in the last week. Even after her kidnapping and near-death experience at the hands of Dr. Byers, she was ready to help.
"Are you finally going to let us help?" Lyla asked.
"I think we start trying some of these spells that my mom wrote down. So far, there's nothing I see that directly relates to taking down the dragon queen, but we have to start somewhere, right?"
Lyla shrugged. "Works for me."
"I don't know," Joanna said. "I'm not sure I'm cut out for this."
Everyone turned to look at her and Joanna's face turned crimson.
"I know it makes me sound like a terrible person, but I'm not a fighter. I mean, I work at a the mall. I barely even passed my conjuring lessons in high school."
I straightened. Her words reminded me of what was at stake. She was afraid, and rightfully so. "You don't have to do it, Joanna." I looked at the other girls standing there, so eager to get started. "None of you have to do this. It's not going to be easy and it sure isn't safe."
Lucy rested a hand on her hip and lifted her brows. "Like you need to tell me that?"
"You've been through so much already," I said.
"Right," Lucy said. "And I'm not going to back down and let that bitch win after everything she put me through. I was kicked out of my mom's house for this stupid dragon blood. If it can do some good, then I'm going to learn how to use it."
"Same," Lyla said. "But you already knew I was in."
"Well, now I feel like an asshole," Joanna said.
"You don't need to feel that way," I said. "This isn't something I'd wish on anyone."
"What if you just learned the magic in case it helps you defend yourself?" Lucy suggested. "You don't have to go fight with us."
I didn't want any of them to fight with me. I wanted to figure out something that I could do that would allow me to finish off the dragon queen without involving anyone besides myself. So far, I hadn't found a way, but I was determined to do so.
"She's right. You are welcome to try the new spells. I hate to say it, but the dragon queen is looking to kill us all." I winced. Joanna had spent several days in the hospital after one of the spiders had nearly killed her. She knew just as well as the rest of us how dangerous this was, even if she hadn't gone with us to Dr. Byers's house.
Joanna pursed her lips. "I suck at magic. I mean, for real. It was an embarrassment that caused me a lot of grief in high school."
I frowned. Five years my senior, Joanna and I had never met prior to this all going down. "It's your choice. But you do have active dragon blood now."
"What does that even mean?" she asked. "I don't get why it's such a big deal."
I lifted my arms, then turned my palms up. Making sure my lips were in a tight line so it was obvious that I wasn't speaking, I called fire. Without any effort, orange flames danced on my palms.
Joanna leaned in, looking at the fire in my hands. "You didn't say anything." She looked up at me. "How did you cast a spell without words?"
"Dragon blood." I closed my hands into fists, extinguishing the flames. "It's one of the perks of having it in our veins. So far, it's about the only perk I know of. But that's why I want to try the spells in the book. Maybe we can learn more."
She looked skeptical. "I don't know. That isn't going to help me with anything."
"Other than staying alive?" Lucy asked.
"Lucy," Lyla chided. "Leave her be. This is a lot to take in."
"Look, you all seem nice enough, but I'm still processing the fact that I was kidnapped, forced to be part of a blood ceremony, then almost killed by a spider the size of my house." Joanna took a few steps backward, away from the rest of us. "I just want to go home and wait for this nonsense to end."
"You don't have to train with us, but I think it's safer for you to stay here until the dragon queen is defeated," I said.
Joanna shook her head. "I've been away long enough. I'm going home. The wards around the city will protect us."
"Dragon fire breaks down the wards," Lyla said. "Didn't you see that all over the news after the dragon attack?"
"Yeah, but it's fixed now. I'm sure we'll have warning if the dragon queen returns." Joanna took a few more steps away from us. "I just can't do this, Morgan."
Lyla reached for Joanna. "Don't go."
I held out my hand to Lyla. "Let her go." I nodded to Joanna. "We wish you the best. My door is always open if you need us."
Joanna forced a small smile before she turned and walked away from us.
I watched her leave through the front door and a feeling of dread filled me. There was now an unprotected dragon mage out in the city. Something told me the dragon queen would know there was an easy target, just waiting for her. I took a deep breath, trying to convince myself I was being paranoid. The dragon queen lost her second in command. If she attacked us now, she'd be risking final death since she can't gain immortality until she eliminates the last of us from the ceremony.
Turning to the other girls, I fixed a smile on my lips. "Ready to try some new magic?"
2
Lyla intercepted me as I walked out of the sitting room. "Should we ask someone to go with her?"
"Like who?" I asked.
"I can go watch out for her," James said.
"No way," I said. "I'm not letting you out of my sight. Every time we split up, bad things happen. I'm being selfish this time."
He tried to hide his smile, but didn't quite succeed.
The two of us still hadn't discussed what we were to each other, but I felt like at this point, the only thing we were missing was that conversation about official titles or exclusivity or whatever it was that people did. Nothing would make me happier than to simply have to worry about whether or not I could call James my boyfriend, but that was a luxury I didn't have right now. It just didn't seem important enough compared to the scale of everything else we were dealing with.
"What about one of your vamps?" Lucy asked.
I shook my head. "She made her decision. She could have stayed here. Besides, she might be safer than the rest of us. If we send someone to watch over her, it'll draw attention to her."
The others still didn't seem pleased with my lack of concern for Joanna. "Look," I said. "If I were the dragon queen, the first place I'd strike is where I could do the most damage or where I thought there was the greatest threat. That's here."
"She has a point," James said.
"Can I send someone from the Order to check in with her in the morning?" McKenzie asked. "It wouldn't be abnormal for us to check in on one of ours."
"That works," I said. "Now, it's time for some magic practice."
"McKenzie, why don't you take Lyla and Lucy to the dining hall. We'll be right there," James said.
My whole body tensed as I watched the others leave, knowing that James was planning to have a serious conversation with me. Why else kick them out?
I turned to face him. It was the first time we'd been alone since before we left for Nowhere.
He walked over to the double doors that were always open to the sitting room, and closed them quietly. "That's better." He turned around to face me. "Now, tell me what's got you so upset."
"I'm allowed to be upset," I said. "In case you don't remember, it's been a rough few days."
"Yes," he said. "I know that. But I can tell that something is bothering you and I don't think it's Joanna's departure. If it were up to you, I have a feeling you'd be charging in solo to take down the dragon queen alone."
I let out a sigh and wrapped my arms around my waist, trying to close myself off even a little. "I don't want to talk about it yet."
"So there is something," he said, moving closer to me.
I looked down at my bare feet. One of the good things about calling this place home was that I felt comfortable enough to walk around without shoes. It was the only good thing that came out of all of this.
James rested a warm palm on each of my upper arms and I felt the tension ease at his touch. Okay, maybe the ability to go barefoot wasn't the only good thing to come of this. James was a definite bonus.
It took every ounce of my willpower not to press myself against him. All I wanted to do was burrow my head in his chest and hide in his embrace until the dust settled. That wasn't possible. Nobody was going to bail me out of this.
