A Dragon's Mark Read online

  A Dragon’s Mark

  By

  Dahlia Rose

  A Dragon’s Mark

  Copyright © July 2013, Dahlia Rose

  Cover art by For the Muse Designs © July 2013

  Formatting by Bob Houston eBook Formatting

  ISBN 978-1-939151-35-3

  This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitious or used fictitiously. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.

  Sugar and Spice Press

  North Carolina, USA

  www.sugarnspicepress.com

  Chapter One

  The badlands, a forbidden area of Paladin where only few ever dared go, except the twelve warriors charged with protecting the lives of their people and humans. Aki was one of those warriors.

  No one knew how the Shen came to be in the badlands but the dragons were determined to drive them out. The dragons had suffered more than anyone could imagine in the past few months. The death of their king and the kidnapping of Mursi’s wife Larissa left them raw and bruised. There was still no sign of her and now at least three more women were missing.

  It bothered everyone and Aki was determined to find answers. While other’s slept he roamed the dark, rocky terrain looking for signs, any clues to where their women had been taken. Besides, he didn’t sleep in the usual way. It was easier to be alone. He could move quickly and silently through the dark night and blend in with the shadows. He wished that he could find the missing women and save his friends the horror of seeing what would be left of once vital bodies. The others didn’t need to see this.

  He was accustomed to horrors few knew about. In one thousand years of existence, he’d traveled the world a few hundred times over, and yes, he’d seen way too much death. Now as he roamed the caves he could smell their filth, the slime that came from their pores, the old hay and leaves they used for nesting and the decay of their food. This place had been recently emptied, he could tell by the slime that wasn’t dry on the walls.

  He frowned. Something was off, he opened up all his senses so he wouldn’t be caught unawares. It was then he heard the sound, an almost inaudible soft breathing and then a wheezing sob.

  Someone was there, and it wasn’t the Shen. He hoped in all that time that maybe he’d find one of their people alive. But it was whom he found that broke his heart. Larissa. Her body was mangled. Blood soaked her skirt and the soiled grass beneath her. Their version of a bed wasn’t even good enough for swine. But she lay in the midst of rot and grime. He didn’t have to wonder about the pain she endured. It was evident all over her.

  Aki forgot about being wary, he rushed to the other side and took her hand in his. Her beautiful hand that once fed him from her and Mursi’s table. The same hand that had ruffled his perfect hair so she could see just a bit of relaxation in his statuesque attire, she used to say fondly. Now her fingers were dirty, raw, and torn from where she had clawed the earth. His heart tore and as usual he pushed the pain away. He closed his eyes to find his center before looking down at her again.

  “Mursi, always stoic, I hoped it would be you to find me.”

  Her voice was weak and he could hear a gurgle in each breath she took. He wondered how she stayed alive so long, but then she was Lleau’s sister. Strength was in the very marrow of their bones.

  “I will get you back to Paladin, the doctors will heal you,” he said.

  She gave a little shake of her head. “No, you cannot take me back to Paladin like this. Mursi would be forever broken to see his wife die in such a horrible manner. We both know there is no saving me.”

  “They can give you medicine for the pain,” Aki protested. “Please, you can’t ask me to keep this from Mursi and Lleau.”

  “I don’t ask you to, just sit with me until I pass,” Larissa tried to smile. “More than once I’ve been beckoned to the other side. I’ve seen our parents, our bloodline that has gone before, waiting for me. The table is set and the fires are lit. But I had to wait for someone to find me and it was you.” He could see the pain in her eyes and wished with all his might he could take it away. “The others are dead, three from Paladin. In the end, to free them from the pain of the birth I took their lives. It was an honorable death.”

  “Are their remains close by so I can take them home as well?” Aki asked.

  “None remain, they were consumed. I am here because I was a trophy,” Larissa explained. “To show they took one of the wives of a warrior, they wanted you all to find my body. I played dead for many days and not long ago I heard one say they saw a patrol coming. They left quickly so I assume they saw you.”

  “Yes, something pulled me here,” Aki said and shook his head. “I kept searching the caves, hoping each time.”

  “You were always sensitive to everyone else’s needs and not your own. I had to bear the violations and the births and there is nothing left of me.” Tears leaked from her eyes. “Let’s speak of good things… good things to take me across. What has happened since I’ve been gone?”

  Aki swallowed thickly. “Your brother has taken a mate, a strong human woman named Shanna. You should’ve seen her fly out of the sky on a parachute when Lleau decided to take on Maion and an entire Shen army. She landed on its shoulders and put a sword in its neck.”

  Larissa smiled and closed her eyes. “Shanna, I would like her, that is the kind of person suitable for my stubborn brother.”

  Aki chuckled. “She is that. Raven and Shanna are bringing the archives into the future, making digital copies of the scrolls so we will never lose anything. The royal children are growing and Kalv just found out he will be a father. He’s become a frantic husband to Ginna. The pears are ripe on the trees so the air smells wonderful, sweet. The skies in Paladin are blue, so very pristine with only high, white clouds. The hummingbirds are outside your windows just how you like them, feasting on all the honeysuckle you made Mursi and I plant.”

  “Hmmm, beautiful.” Larissa’s breath was becoming shallow. “Tell Lleau I send him my love and wish him a long marriage and many healthy children. Tell the others that I died with honor and made sure all of us taken would find our way to our forefathers. Tell Mursi I said to live again and love again, to have the children we never did and I will be their guardian. He will feel my passing, don’t let him go off alone and brood. Even with his jokes he tends to brood.”

  “I will make sure,” Aki promised.

  “Vatryn.” She said one word and the last breath left her body.

  Aki was paralyzed with grief and rage so strong for a moment he was unable to quell it. He punched the rock wall, uncaring of the pain in his hand until chunks of stone fell. It was the only way at that point to go numb to do what he needed to do. The mantra he used as long as he could remember to keep his emotions in check filled his head. After cleaning her up the best he could, Larissa’s lifeless form was limp and too light in his hands as he left the cave. Aki allowed the dragon that shared his body free reign and then gently took her form in his claw. Even with the speed he flew, Aki carefully carried his friend as if she was made of spun glass back to Paladin. It would have been easier to cry, maybe it would dispel the cold, hard vengeance he planned in his head. He felt the mist of rain on his wings and a low sound of agony escaped his throat. The gods cried the tears he could not for sweet Larissa who deserved so much better than torture and death. On the steps of the palace he returned to his human self. One of the caretakers threw the velvet robe over his shoulders. He made a sound of dismay when he saw Larissa’s body.

  “Give me another cloak to wrap her in, please,” Aki said quietly. “They cannot see her like this.”

  “He knows, warrior,” the caretaker said sadly.

&
nbsp; Aki didn’t ask what he meant. He heard the inconsolable howls coming from the castle. Roars of Larissa’s name so loud that people outside looked around. He covered her with the second cloak and took her in his arms, walking past the massive columns into the palace. There was a struggle in the middle of the court as he walked inside. Mursi was on his knees and Lleau, Kalv, Orin, Raul, and Bior were struggling to hold him down. Aki could see the play of muscles bunch under the group of men as his dragon tried to find freedom from his human skin. A shift that happened quickly and out of grief could destroy his human side. His brother warriors were literally trying to hold him together. Larissa was right, he felt her go and it tore at him in ways only few could dare dream about but never want to live through. Aki knew the feeling all too well. He placed Larissa gently on the ground and walked over to where the pile of massive men still tried to hold Mursi.

  Aki bent down and took Mursi by the shoulders, giving his brother dragon a rough shake. “She would not want this, Mursi. Be still. I’ve brought her home.”

  He turned a tortured face to Aki. “She spoke to you.”

  It wasn’t a question but a statement and Aki would never lie. “I did, she wants you to find love again, bear children, and not let this loss consume you. She died with dignity and made sure the others taken met their ancestors with honor. She was strong, keeping death at bay until one of us found her so she could say this to you. This is the woman she was, this was Larissa, so you are not allowed to let her down.”

  Mursi clutched his chest. “How can she ask that of me? This damn useless heart in my chest shattered when she died. I don’t want to be healed, I refuse to be. It was hers and she took my love with her.”

  Aki looked at him. “I cannot tell you it will get better or easier, but you will survive this and we will kill every Shen from now until we win, in her name. They have taken too much from us, now we destroy them and savor it.”

  Mursi nodded. “Thank you Aki, I will go bury my mate. She wouldn’t want a lot of people there so only the twelve and their mates. Only family.”

  Lleau stood. “She is my sister, the burial crest from our family will cover her so they know she comes with honor.”

  * * * *

  Much later it was Aki alone who went back to the badlands. It was his personal mission now. While the rest slept the best they could after the new loss they faced, he couldn’t find any kind of rest. Usually meditation calmed him enough that his body felt as if it slept, but this time he was too restless. Watching Mursi and Lleau suffer, knowing how the other females died. It left him unsettled, with an old anger surging inside him. He wanted to kill, he wanted to kill the things that caused so much agony. Yes, in war there were always casualties, but it didn’t make it any easier to deal with.

  Aki was on the hunt, back to where he found Larissa. She said they left quickly when they saw him overhead but he did not see any of the abominations scurrying out of the mouth of the cave. He had a feeling there was another portal, one that they didn’t even know about. They always thought there was only one portal into Paladin until the Shen.

  He walked in the cave with silent steps past the dank, dirty place where Larissa took her last breath. He knelt on the ground and saw her blood had turned dark with time. How long had she suffered? Memories filled his consciousness and it wasn’t Larissa lying on the ground but another woman, one he’d loved long ago.

  He was so caught up in his own internal struggle that he didn’t hear the slither and smell the stench until the last moment. One of the serpents hissed just too loudly as they swung at his head. In a martial arts move that he’ done so many times it was like breathing, he bent backward and the blade missed his neck. His back touched the floor and he swung his feet in a kick, taking three down to the dirty ground. Were they already there or did they manage to get past him because he was paying little attention? It didn’t matter in the least to him they were there and payback was due. He was on his feet in the blink of an eye and assessed his quarry in front of him. A slow grin spread across his face as he unwound the braid he wore around his neck, knowing the blades twined in his hair were sharp.

  Aki pulled his sword and took a warriors stance. “Well then, come get me.”

  They attacked and Aki cut them down with pleasure. When one fell another took its place but he kept fighting. His hair was a weapon and extension of his body, arms and legs. Hundred of years of martial arts training had taught him how to use it like a whip. With each lash, Aki turned and moved in a deadly dance. The end of his sword and the blade in his hair were covered with black blood. In the small, cramped space, he fought like he was on open ground. One of the idiot Shen tried to shift between the rock opening, hoping that its size would scare him. All he managed to do was cause the rocks to crumble and a cave-in began. Those who could run out did, but since Aki was inside the cave fighting for his life he could not escape. When the dust settled some of the Shen were crushed and the ones left in the cave with him looked around with panic and wide eyes, knowing their death was coming.

  Aki quickly dispatched them and a pile of bodies was all that was left. He studied the rocks left from the cave-in but they were tightly packed. Moving one could further destroy the integrity of the cave. He was essentially trapped but instead of panicking he calmly looked for a way out. Water was coming in, leaking down the walls, and he felt it on his fingertips in the darkness. If it was raining and water was coming in there had to be a way out. He squeezed through a crevice in the rocks. It was barely big enough for him to maneuver through so he moved slowly.

  He slid his hands along the rock wall. It was pitch black since the cave-in, but because of his second nature the dragon in him enhanced his eyesight. Aki frowned when his hand dipped into what he thought was a hole in the rock wall. But when he pulled his hand back and repeated the action, he felt the familiar tingle that caused the hair on his arms to stand on end. A portal, but to where? Anything had to be better than where he was now. He would not be able to turn around, the space was too small and he certainly was not trusting of the cave’s structural integrity to go back and try to come in again. He slid closer to the portal and stuck his hand through. He felt cool air and rain that explained the water on the rocks. If he could turn he would be able to stick his head through and confirm it wasn’t a portal to a Shen stronghold. His luck wasn’t that good to find the King they kept hidden. Aki heard what sounded like distorted humming and could tell it was a woman. He reached through the portal again and waved his hand.

  “Hey, excuse me to the person out there, can you see my hand?” Aki yelled. “Hello, hello?”

  “What the hell!”

  The voice held the correct amount of fear and disbelief. Listening to it through a portal was reminiscent of being an empty room with an echo. Okay, calm the human and let her see you’re not a threat.

  “I know this seems strange, but I promise to explain everything if you’d only take my hand and help me get through,” he coaxed.

  “Says the hand coming out of nowhere,” she retorted. “For all I know you are a demon trying to drag me through to hell. Oh my god, is this like that hell movie? I knew I should have kept up with being Catholic, now they sent a hell-beast.”

  “If you look at my hand you’d see I’m human,” Aki said calmly.

  “Demons take human disguises,” she pointed out. “Maybe I fell and hit my head.”

  “Listen,” Aki sighed. “I’m not a demon and you didn’t hit your head. I’m in a pretty cramped spot and this cave isn’t going to last much longer. I’m going to put my other hand through and all I need is for you to take them both and pull so I can get some leverage out of here. I will explain everything when I get out, I swear.”

  Aki heard a noise and looked back to the cave with a frown. Screeching and scratching told him that Shen were trying to get through from the other side. They probably thought he was still alive, and this one sounded bigger than the others. It reminded him of Maion, and he certainly did not nee
d to be caught in this tight spot with a Shen beast like that. There wasn’t any fighting maneuverability.

  “You won’t eat me or anything?” she asked. “What am I asking? You’ll say no then probably try to eat me.”

  “I swear on my honor you will not be harmed,” Aki promised.

  “I can’t believe I am trusting hands out of nowhere,” she said. “But hey, I’ve either snapped or gone insane, so I’ll do it.”

  He felt her grab both his hands and begin to pull. Aki used an old martial arts trick and moved his knees up until he could push against the wall. His body went through the hole by inches and slowly until he could get his feet flat against the rock wall on the opposite side. He shoved, propelling himself through the portal. He knocked his saving grace down and they were tangled together for a moment. The woman scrambled up and stood over him, her mouth agape in shock.

  She was cute. Aki never thought he’d use a human word, but she was cute. She had on a white knit hat against the rain and a coat to match which was open and exposing a dark tank shirt. She was jean clad and wearing boots with tall heels that weren’t very good for running. But her face, he went back to that face full of surprise. Wide almond-shaped eyes with light brown irises stared at him. Lips that were a darker shade of pink, making him wonder if it was lipstick or her natural color. Aki figured he should get off the damp pavement and stop staring at her like he was a besotted teen.

  “Well, hello.” He smiled and sat up. Aki glanced behind him and saw the Space Needle. He was in Seattle again. “Hmmm, I was here a few weeks ago.”

  “You w-w- were?” she stammered. A loud screech was heard and she looked at the spot where he came through. “What the hell is that?”

  Aki grinned. “Yes I was and we really should leave, because that is something not-so-nice. Do you have a car?”

  “Um, yeah, over there,” she said and pointed to the parking lot across the street.

  “Okay, let’s go.” He started to guide her by the elbow and she stopped.