Chapter 30
Collum woke with the smell of her lingering on his sheets. Some part of him recognized she’d been dreamwalking from the minute she appeared in the room. He hadn't cared. Dreamwalker or not, she was his. Controlling the dream had been an unconscious act, an extension of his natural ability to control the thoughts of those around him—of anyone really. He was one of only a handful with the power to do so. It was his most closely guarded secret. Immediate death met anyone who discovered it. Control of the dream had been instinctual. He prayed Alex's naivety of the immortal world would keep her from asking questions.
His hand wandered to his erection as he imagined her body next to his. He was stiff and ready. Thoughts of how they’d ravaged each other last night consumed him. He stroked himself as images of their lovemaking ran through his mind. Pictured himself thrusting against her while holding her in his wings. Pictured the flames that soared around them when they came. Remembered the fierce whimpers she’d made while she pulled him in closer. She was the most amazing woman he’d ever met and he couldn't fathom being without her.
He lay in the tangled sheets, fully intent on pleasuring himself, when he heard approaching cars coming up the road. The smell of rangers drifted in the window. So, he thought, three days to find him. He'd hoped for more time, but he could deal with a few rangers.
Collum stood and called on his inner dragon. The beast in him awoke instantly with the same memories of taking its woman. Collum relished the feel of the ancient nature taking over. The dragon tattoos across his chest, over his body had been his choice. He’d gotten them so no one would ever doubt who he was or where his loyalty lay. Guardian to the immortals he might be. Dragon was what he was. The beast waited only momentarily before turning to stalk its prey.
When his dragon took over, Collum retained awareness of all his acts. That awareness reminded him not to kill all the Elemental soldiers approaching his land until he had a chance to question them. He released his wings, leaped from the balcony and took flight to search for intruders. Located them about five kilometres down the road from his home. Having crossed onto his property, they were fair game. The beast flew directly to them.
Two black Mercedes peeled around the bend, churning up gravel and dust. He dove at them, spewing fire, ripping a giant fracture in the road. The cars swerved and screeched to a halt. He landed directly in front of the first car with his wings spread and his eyes spitting fire. Four young soldiers jumped out, clearly shaken but prepared to battle the creature in front of them. The dragon sneered. Again, they sent weaklings. Where were the great warriors of the Elementals he knew of? Before they could lift their hands, he spit a bolt of lightning and split the lead soldier in half.
“Why have you trespassed on my land?” the beast barked.
The three remaining soldiers recoiled.
One vomited.
The dragon sighed.
One man stepped forward, shakily decreeing, “Collum Thronus, King of the Dragons and Guardian of Immortals, by order of council members Taurin and Ealian Gondien we are here to bring you in for questioning in the matter of treason against the Elementals by the Taleisin family.”
The dragon laughed a deep throated, dark laugh. “Quite the mouthful. Do you boys know where you are?”
He looked each of them in the eyes before sucking in another breath and releasing a lightning bolt that split the soldier who’d spoken, in half. As the smell of burning flesh filled the air around them, he looked to the final two men.
They stood, white as chalk as the dragon smirked at them.
One finally found his voice. “You can't do that. You’ve committed murder and by doing so committed treason against the elders.”
Collum shook his head at the young man’s folly and allowed his beast to do what it wished. The beast roared, spread its wings and let loose a stream of blue fire at the third man who had dared to command it. Fire consumed his flesh in mere seconds. The man lay screaming on the ground, his skin on fire and melting against his bones. The beast offered no mercy. They’d come to his home and threatened him. They should have known that here his word was the only law.
The dragon turned to the young man who’d vomited earlier. His voice echoed with ancient magic. “Go back to your council. Tell them to stay away from dragon land. I was old before they were born and it’s my word that lays judgement. If they come at me again, I’ll kill them as quickly and as easily as I did these three. Do you understand me?”
The soldier nodded in acknowledgment. The beast watched, waiting with barely concealed impatience as its prey walked back to its car on shaking legs. As the car retreated, Collum returned to the man still writhing on the ground.
“You may come for revenge in the afterlife.” He used the tip of his wing to pierce the man’s heart. Bored, he took flight and quickly made his way back to the castle.
~ ~ ~
He landed in the courtyard, absorbed his wings into his body and let the beast rest. As he spun to head into the home, he noticed the little witch from the night before walking toward him with a cup of coffee.
“I thought you might like this after last night. So how was the killing and maiming?”
She'd caught him off guard again. “You’re a strange bird, you know that?”
“I've been told. I prefer to think of it as being highly witty.”
He reached out for the coffee and took a sip of the strong brew. “Glenn really does make the best coffee in England,” he said while savoring the taste of the cinnamon on his tongue.
The old man had started putting cinnamon in the coffee about fifteen years ago. Collum had been hard pressed to find a decent brew outside of his home since. He made sure he returned home regularly, mostly to check in. Didn’t want Glenn flying off half-cocked every time he missed a meeting. He’d almost lost him once—to his piece of shit father. Glenn had had the audacity to tell his father not to beat him. It’d taken Collum three months to nurse him back to health. He didn't know much about the man’s private life, and frankly, he didn't care that much either.
“Glenny and I have been having a lovely visit while you were off hunting. He’s the best. I hope you know how lucky you are to have a guy like him on your side.”
“I do, Mar. I've known since the day I met him.”
“Good. Just making sure you weren't a total loser. Now we should probably eat before the food gets cold. I suspect he’ll get angry if his perfect, Eggs Glenny, gets cold before we eat.”
As she turned on her heel, Collum marveled at how she managed to walk in five-inch stilettos before nine a.m.
Breakfast was waiting on the table when they reached the dining room. Large portions of steaming Eggs Glenny, filled their plates. The dish was a version of Eggs Benedict but with massive amounts of paprika and fresh cilantro mixed in the sauce. The taste was spicy and fresh at the same time. It was one more thing Collum couldn't get enough of.
He shoveled spoonfuls into his mouth. “I've been looking forward to this dish for weeks.”
“Thank you,” Glenn said. “I trust you took care of the mess on the drive. Or, do I need to send some of the young dragons to clean up?”
Collum hid his laughter under his breath. Glenn hated blood on the driveway. “Yes, ask some of the men to look after it for me. A good fire should do it.”
“Very good. I’ll see to it right away. You and Miss Del Voscovo enjoy your breakfast. Let me know when to have your bags packed.”
The man exited the breakfast room as Mar waved and sung, “Buenos Dias, Glenny” from across the room.
They made plans while shoving eggs into their mouths and guzzling back the rich black coffee.
“Tell me again how you think we find her,” Collum said.
“Well, good old Domhall left me a few cryptic hints. One of which was the notion of a portal. He found me about ten years ago, when I was sixteen and coming into my powers, asking about creating a spell to make a portal, based on the desire to locate a missing person. He wouldn't give me much more to go on and I never fully developed the spell, but in the end, I gave him all the work I had done. He paid me a bloody fortune.”
She paused for a moment to sip more of the coffee. “Actually, it was that conversation that made me decide I wanted more power. Meeting Domhall let me see what I was really capable of.”
“So, he's been planning this for ten years?”
“You know, for a big beast you catch on pretty quick.”
“Yes, Mar, I’ve heard the big dumb dragon line before. You'd do well to remember that this dumb dragon was ravishing civilizations before you were a thought in your oldest ancestors’ minds.”
“I think I like you better when you’re drunk,” she pouted before carrying on. “Anyway, I couldn't finish the spell then, but knowing what I know now, and knowing that Domhall has figured it out, I'm certain I can as well.”
“How are you certain he’s figured it?”
“Oh Dragon, you need more coffee. How did Alex and her Parthen brother leave your courtyard? When you say a portal, I hope you'll let me slap your forehead for good measure.”
He scowled at her and set his cup down. “The Parthen can't make portals.”
“Nope, that’s one thing the Parthen can’t do, but apparently Domhall can. Give me a day or two and I'm fairly certain I can as well.”
“We don't have a day or two.”
“There is something else he told me at the airport that I didn't get around to telling you last night. He said something about loving to travel and he hoped I'd visit Athens one day to explore the history. I am willing to place bets that the Parthen King’s Island is near Greece. I think if you get me close enough, I can create a portal to the island. It'll be weak, but we won't need much strength if we’re close enough.”
“Why do you need to be close? Can't you do it from here?”
“Okay, so you have to promise not to yell at me again. I mean we were both drinking last night so I didn't bring it up then and I didn’t want to heap too much on your plate so I waited until now to tell you everything. I mean it's a fab castle, and I'd heard about Glenny's coffee . . . Honestly, every house I've been to has some poor sop in the kitchen trying to recreate this coffee, so I wanted to get a drink of it before you rushed . . .”
“Mar,” Collum roared across the room with so much force a blast of fire followed it.
"Dios Mio, man, I thought I asked you not to yell at me,” she yelled back while dodging the flame. “Okay, so, after talking about the history of the Greek culture, Domhall handed me a binder with all the papers I’d originally given him. Since we’re in a hurry, I know I can't spend weeks on it, but I do believe if you give me a bit of time and get me to Greece, I can find your girlfriend.”
Collum looked at her, exasperation tinged with respect. “Get your bags. We leave in fifteen minutes.”
~ ~ ~
It ended up being late afternoon before the plane took off. First, there had been a young dragon who’d broken a wing when trying to fly. As king, he'd needed to make plans for the kid’s recovery. Then they couldn't get his plane out of the hanger because the captain had pulled out parts for repair.
If it had been only him, he would have taken flight and been halfway to Greece by now. But he had the witch with him and he couldn’t carry them both that far. They drove to the ferry to get off the island, followed by another hour to Heathrow terminal before settling themselves in for a five-hour, first class flight. If all went well, they’d be in Greece by ten p.m. that night. Depending on how long it took Mar to figure out the spell to open a portal, he was hopeful he’d reach Alex in as a little as thirty-six hours.