Dark Legends, page 342
Violca closed the door, telling Angyalka and Sari to sit on the chair away from the window. With the moonlight coming in she realized that Brandon had the blinds open and quickly closed them. Stopping, she saw Chase standing outside and several men coming out from the woods.
Violca could only make out their shapes, but they were all tall and thick. It looked like Chase was about to be surrounded by a group of linebackers. Her eyes went round as she watched a black shimmery cloud surround Chase and a moment later, she saw what looked to be a black dragon and heard a loud roar. Moonlight shimmered off the black dragon as it stood on all fours, panting heavily, small puffs of smoke in front of his face. The dragon turned, looking at her and their eyes met. Violca could actually see the dragon’s golden eyes staring at her, and she quickly closed the blinds, backing up to the bed.
“What was that?” Eva asked, looking at her intently.
Violca opened her mouth to say something before closing it again. She didn’t know if she even believed what she saw. No way was she saying she saw a dragon. Eva walked toward the window.
“Stay away from the window. We don’t need anyone to see that we’re in here.”
Eva frowned and went back to standing by Sari. Angyalka had curled up on Kati’s lap and Violca heard Kati making soothing noises. They jumped when they heard a thud against the wall. She wanted to check to see if the dragon was still outside. She wanted to see if Brandon was okay. Violca knew she had to protect her sisters, but wished she could be more help.
Chase’s muscles stretched, and he let out a loud roar at the end of his change. Aware that eyes were on him, he turned to see Violca in the window. When she closed the blinds quickly, he felt his dragon’s hurt and wondered if she would be able to accept this side of him.
Changing was painful when they first learned how, but Chase was old enough that he barely felt it this time. He knew Violca could not see much. The few that had seen them change never could describe more than a shimmer or a cloud around them.
Focusing back on the men coming out of the woods, he growled and scratched the ground, ready to attack. From the scent, he could smell that some of them were human. They were marked by a demon, the smell of the sulfur lingering on them. The other ones were demon halflings, demons that were born from human females that had been tortured and raped. They were not as strong as demons, but stronger than humans. Some of them even had special abilities they received from the women who were picked.
Six of them circled him. Chase resisted the urge to blow fire, knowing that if he did, there was a chance he could set the entire forest on fire. Four of them attacked at once. Swinging out his arm, he swiped at one, causing him to hit the side of the house near the girls’ room.
Chase hissed and bit the one near his right arm when he felt a blade slicing into his skin. He saw two of them trying to circle behind him, heading to the house and he used his long tail to swat them away, knocking them over. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw several more men coming out of the woods, heading toward the house. Grabbing two of the humans, he swung them up and over the woods. He felt several more knives trying to slice him, so he used his paw to hold one of them down.
Standing in the backyard Scott’s eyes narrowed, he heard Chase roar and smiled. He was worried about his brother, but focused on the shadows he saw coming closer. The smell of sulfur was strong and he narrowed his eyes. Fucking demons. It figures they would join against Viktor, siding to help his brother Dmitri.
Three men came out of the trees into the clearing. As if on silent command, they all rushed at him and he smiled, running at them. This was his element, fighting, protecting others. He was not built for sitting by and watching. He clotheslined the first guy, knocking him on the ground before dodging the punch of the second. Scott came up with an uppercut, hitting the guy on the jaw.
The third attacked him only to be knocked to the ground when Eryk came out of the woods. Scott growled, “Good to see you, little brother.” before swinging at the guy in front of him.
“Sorry, was a little tied up, brother. Hope you didn’t have too much fun without me.” Eryk said, and Scott fought the urge not to grin.
Chapter Forty-Two
Violca could hear Brandon fighting outside her door and Chase fighting in the front. Each time they heard a thud from any direction, the girls jumped. “Do you think they’re going to be okay?” Kati asked, looking at the door, biting her lower lip.
Violca smiled reassuringly at Kati, “Of course, you know how strong Brandon is, and I bet Chase and Scott are just as strong.”
Kati nodded, biting her lower lip. The room began to shake and the girls cuddled together in the corner, away from the door and the windows. It felt like someone was shaking the room, until the boards broke in half and the wall was flung at the dragon that was surrounded by men.
Violca stood in front of Eva and Kati, who were guarding the younger two girls as they whimpered. Violca heard Eva whisper, “Is that a dragon?”
Violca’s eyes were drawn to the group of men heading toward her room. All of them looked to stand well over six foot. The one in the center seemed to be leading. His pale white hair reflected the moonlight as he approached, his eyes almost seemed to be glowing and were red in color. When he was close, she noticed how his smile was predatory. When he spoke, his voice was deep, rich, alluring. “Come with me, my dears. Let me take you from these shifters and save you.”
Angyalka whimpered, her voice barely heard over the fighting. “He’s not a nice man.”
Despite the fact that Violca could barely hear her sister, the guy tsk’d at her comment. “I promise, I’m a very nice man.”
The roar from the dragon caused Violca to look in its direction. She could see smoke coming from its mouth. The dragon came at them. The man made a motion with his hand, and more people came out of the woods to attack the dragon.
“Come with me before someone gets hurt.” His voice sounded impatient as his eyes narrowed.
The door flew open and Brandon stood in the doorway. He looked at the missing wall, his eyes going round in surprise. Aiming his gun, he shot at the guy trying to come in. The silver-haired man put his hand up, and they could actually see the bullet freeze in mid-air before it dropped.
Violca was frozen, until she felt Brandon grab her arm. “Violca, come.”
Turning, she grabbed Angyalka, but before they could get anywhere, two of them grabbed Sari and Angyalka away from them. Before Brandon could help, two more guys appeared in the doorway, distracting him.
Fear rising, Violca tried to fight them. Her arms went up to push the guy in front of her, and she felt a blast, almost like electricity, shooting from her fingers and into the one trying to take Angyalka, knocking him out of the room.
Angyalka ran to Eva and Violca reached out, feeling a pulsing power coming from the crook of her neck. That same power left her fingertips and shot at the second guy. When he flew backwards, she quickly grabbed Sari, pulling her behind her, backing them toward the door.
Not sure what had happened, she kept her hands in front of her. Violca could still feel a light pulsing of power in the crook of her neck. Looking up, she saw the man with the white hair watching intently. When he smiled, she swore his teeth all looked like they were shaved into points. “Until later, my Earth witch.”
The words were barely past his lips when he was suddenly gone. Not just him, but all of his men had disappeared as well. Even the ones who had been fighting Brandon in the doorway were gone. Violca turned to look outside and saw the dragon standing just outside her room.
Slowly walking toward him, she saw his chest heaving and small puffs of smoke when he breathed. The dragon itself was probably just slightly smaller than her house. Violca could feel him watching her, the eyes so familiar to Chase’s, but different. The moonlight glittered off his obsidian black body and she hesitantly stepped closer.
Brandon tried to grab her arm to stop her from stepping out of the hole in the wall. “Violca?”
She heard the question in his voice and she shook him off, continuing to walk to the dragon.
Violca swore she could hear her mother’s voice in her head encouraging her. When she stood just in front of the dragon, Chase, he lowered his head. She walked around him, noticing the wings on his back and wondered if he could fly, how his scales were so black and reflected the moonlight. When she came back around to the front of him, she reached out and touched his arm. Violca thought it would be rough, but instead it was smooth, and the muscles under her hand contracted.
Looking up, she saw him watching her. “Chase?” His name came out like a question and his head came down, nudging her. Closing her eyes, she rubbed her cheek on the dragon’s nose. Hearing someone clearing his throat, she looked up to see Scott and Eryk coming around the house.
“Eryk, we were worried about you.”
Eryk blushed, running his hand along the back of his neck. “Sorry, they lured me away before I realized what was happening.”
Brandon cleared his throat, his eyes narrowing, his voice sounding rough when he finally spoke. “We need to get away from here, and you need to explain what the fuck is going on.”
Scott nodded. “You’re right. Let’s hurry up and get everyone’s stuff together and get out of here before they decide to come back.”
Brandon looked at the girls. “Grab what you need. We can replace your clothes.”
Violca grabbed her mother’s book from the nightstand, then her purse and her phone, before following Sari and Angyalka to their room. Collecting a few books that their mother had written in, she helped them put the stuffed animals they’d brought into their backpacks. Noticing the look on their faces, Violca stopped, going to her knees to look at them. “Hey, it’s going to be okay, I promise.”
Angyalka sniffled, using her arm to wipe her nose, while Sari nodded, biting her lip. “Are they going to come back?”
Violca brushed her hair back. “I don’t know, sweetie, but just in case, we’re going to go somewhere else, okay?” Both girls nodded and she smiled at them. “Okay, have we gotten all your stuffed animals? Do you need anything else?”
Both girls looked around, grabbing one or two more items, then putting them in their backpacks as they headed into the living room, where they found everyone waiting on them. The tension between them was so strong in the air, Violca actually had a hard time taking a breath.
Chase and Brandon eyed each other with mistrust before Chase finally spoke up, “It’s a long drive home. I think we should head in that direction and find a hotel about an hour or two from here. Get some sleep and then talk in the morning after everyone’s had a good rest.”
Brandon nodded. Looking away, he grabbed his bag and Angyalka. “Follow us. I think I know of a good place.”
Chapter Forty-Three
Violca watched out the window. When she heard the sound of gentle snoring, she turned to see the younger two girls had fallen asleep. She looked over at Brandon, who was still gripping the steering wheel tightly. “How much farther?” she whispered, hoping Eva and Kati, who were sitting in the back, didn’t hear her.
Brandon glanced at her, then ran his hand through his hair. “About an hour.” She nodded, sitting back in her seat. When Brandon finally looked over at her, his voice was a hushed angry whisper, “What were you thinking walking up to that…that…”
Violca winced before saying, “Dragon.”
“Dragons don’t exist.” Brandon said between gritted teeth, shaking his head before whispering, “Neither do guys who disappear into thin air.”
Violca closed her eyes and whispered, “Neither do witches.”
Brandon reached out and squeezed her hand. She tried to smile at him as she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. If she told anyone about what happened tonight, they would put her in a straitjacket and throw away the key. She would not believe anyone. She barely believed it and she was there.
Brandon drove for another hour before pulling off at a hotel that had a view of the highway and took cash. Telling her to stay in the car, he got out and talked to Chase. When they disappeared into the office, she heard Kati from the back whispering, “V, who were those guys?”
Violca turned in her seat, seeing Kati and Eva both watching her. “I don’t know.” She answered truthfully. “But we’ll find out.”
Brandon came back, opening the door and getting in. “We got the two rooms at the end.” Starting the van, he drove around to the closest spot to their room and looked back at the sleeping girls in the middle. “Our rooms are adjoining, figured we could sleep in one and the girls in the other.” He pointed toward the SUV. “They’re in the room next to us.”
Nodding, she got out, and opened the side door to the van. She reached in and picked up Sari. “Eva, can you carry Angyalka for me?”
Laying her sister down on the bed furthest from the window, Violca removed Sari’s shoes. Once Eva lay down, she adjusted Angyalka in the bed, and Violca covered the two, the adjoining door opened. “Eva and Kati, I hope you don’t mind, but I thought you two could sleep in here with your sisters and share the other bed. Your sister and I will sleep in this room. The door will stay open just in case.”
Eva and Kati both nodded and he smiled at them. “I know it’ll be hard, but let’s get some sleep.”
Violca followed Brandon into the other room, sighing when she sat on the bed. “Try to get some sleep.” Brandon said, lying on top of his blankets. Kicking off her shoes before lying down, Violca closed her eyes. She did not think she would be able to fall asleep, but soon her eyes grew heavy and sleep took hold of her.
Scott paced in the room. His cat wanted out as soon as Kati was in danger. His skin was itchy with his desire to change. Even though he had not claimed Kati as his own, his desire to protect her was just as strong as if he had. Scott realized that even though his human half might not have fully accepted her as his, his animal half had no such reservations.
“How long do you think until they try again?” Eryk asked, drawing everyone’s attention.
Chase shrugged. “Not long. I messaged Viktor on the way here. He said to take the girls to the house. They have reports on where Dmitri is hiding, and Viktor went with some of his guards to see if they can capture him.”
Scott watched Chase glance at the window. “I’m going to go for a run and check the surrounding area.”
Not waiting for an answer, Scott headed outside. At this exit, there was only the hotel, a mom-and-pop restaurant and a gas station. There was also a service road that ran between the highways and connected small towns. Scott walked around the hotel. Heading off so he was out of sight, he stripped and stacked his clothes neatly where he could find them later and quickly shifted into his panther. Turning his head, he could smell Kati in her room and his cat let out a low whine. Staying in the long grass, he ran along the highway for several miles on alert for anything out of the ordinary.
Chase watched his friend from the window before turning to Eryk. “Get some sleep, I have a funny feeling it won’t be long before they try again.”
Eryk kicked off his shoes, crawling under the blankets, still dressed. Chase sighed, leaning his head against the window frame. The relief his dragon felt when Violca approached him and touched him, almost made him roar, he was so happy.
Chase rubbed the side of his neck where Violca had bitten him earlier. He was surprised when she broke the skin, but the surge of pleasure that went through him called to his animal instinct and he had bitten her in kind.
Chase felt so much fear when he saw the side of the house ripped away and the demon, Micah, approaching the girls. He was so outnumbered all he could do was watch from the corner of his eye. If needed, he would have lit the entire forest on fire to keep her safe. It was ingrained in them early on, to always be careful with their flame and only in rare circumstances were they allowed to use it.
Chase rubbed his neck again. The superficial wounds he received during the fight had healed during the attack, but he could still feel her teeth marks in his skin. Through it, he was able to feel Violca using her power. It was a pulsing sensation he felt even as he assumed his dragon shape. At this moment, he felt like they were connected and that she was drawing power from him.
He found that he liked feeling connected. Even with a wall between them, he could feel her. Sighing, he crawled into the other bed, knowing that when Scott got back, he would wake him up to take the next watch.
Chapter Forty-Four
Violca woke up to the sound of voices and stretched. Recognizing Chase and Brandon’s voices, she smiled and looked toward the door. Brandon was standing in the doorway and before she could make out what they were saying, he closed the door.
“They’re going to get breakfast and will come over with it so we can talk in private.” Brandon told her, seeing the curious look on her face.
Nodding, she looked around the room and realized she didn’t have a toothbrush or toothpaste. In her haste, she had only grabbed a few things. Getting up, she headed to the girls’ room to see if Kati or Eva were smart enough to bring one.
Walking into the adjoining room, she saw Kati was the only one really awake and whispered, “Hey, did any of you think to grab a toothbrush and toothpaste?”
Kati reached over into Eva’s backpack and pulled them out.
“I’ll bring them right back. The guys are going to bring us breakfast so we can talk.”
Kati looked around the room. “I’ll wake up the girls when you come back with the toothbrush.”
Violca headed back to her room, brushed her teeth and ran her fingers through her hair. Feeling better, she brought the toothbrush and toothpaste back and helped wake up the little ones.
