Soul Of The Dragon Read online

  Don’t. She reminded herself, he was not a man, he was a beast. Serena had been told how they treated humans, and how she must never allow herself to see him as the same as her. It was a sure way to get herself killed.

  Carrying one heavy bag and dragging her suitcase, she made her way up to the house. If he were a gentleman, he would have come out and helped her, but it was a good job he wasn’t; she had secrets in her luggage she did not need him finding out about.

  The house seemed to bear down on her, huge and imposing, like its owner. Serena wondered how long he had owned it. These great beasts were supposed to live for thousands of years; he might even have had it built himself, stone by stone. All those people he must have known that were now dead and gone.

  Once more she wondered if he was lonely. Perhaps he would be grateful for the fate she was being forced to inflict on him. He might enjoy the freedom of having the thinking, feeling part of him ripped away while his body went on living. However, she could not console herself with that; she would not be allowed to forgo her guilt by thinking she was doing him a favour. More than anyone, she knew what it was to have no freedom, to be told what to do. And to be forced to do things you hated.

  This will end that life, she told herself. All she had to do was survive the next few days, and then give birth to the little dragon child, hand him over, and then she would be free. Samuel had promised.

  Yet the voice in her head whispered to her of her naivety. She could hope all she wanted, but she doubted Samuel would simply let her go. Once pregnant, she would have to find some way to leverage her position over her impending motherhood. First she had to get through this ordeal. Because if she didn't, she would never conceive the child, and if the dragon didn’t kill her, then Samuel would.

  All she had to do first was get inside the house. She went to the front door, expecting him to be waiting; after all, he knew she was there, he had buzzed her in through the gates. Any physical pain he might put her through she could deal with; she had been well schooled in putting her mind elsewhere while men hurt her, but if there was one thing she didn't need, it was mind games. Closing her eyes to push the thoughts away, making her mind blank, she lifted her hand to knock.

  Then she waited. Nothing.

  Turning she watched the taxi disappear into the distance. If no one answered, she was stuck here in the grounds of this monstrous house. Raising her hand again, she knocked harder, and kept knocking until the door was flung open.

  "I assumed you would come straight in."

  She was taken aback by his tone. "That wouldn't be polite."

  He laughed. "Manners have never been a requirement for a breeding vessel. I let you in the gates. I knew you were here. No one gets in the estate without my prior knowledge, and if they did I'd eat them." His eyes danced, he meant to scare her.

  "You might not care for manners, and that is your choice." She lowered her tone, her usual cautiousness returning.

  "Really? And do you believe you have a choice in what you say and do? Once you step over this threshold, our bargain is sealed. Do you understand?"

  She hesitated, looking up into his handsome, arrogant face. Until she had conceived his child, she would be his to do with as he wished. Charlotte's face came to her, smiling, happy, they were somewhere safe, away from here. His words were truer than he could ever imagine: she had no choice, she never had.

  Without answering, she took a deliberate step over the threshold into his house. His hand pushed the door; it slammed shut with a shudder, the effort he had exerted negligible. A thrill of fear coursed through her. Her fate was in his hands now, and all her old fears came back to her, and she trembled before him.

  He stood studying her, something she gathered she would have to get used to. Maybe he hadn't had a woman for a long time. Maybe he would be kind to her, but the stories she had been told about the dragons and their mating rites would not let her fool herself.

  "I'll show you where you will sleep." He turned and marched away, and she half expected him to take her to a deep, dark dungeon where he would chain her up, only freeing her when he wished to use her body for breeding. Instead he took her into a massive hall, an ornate staircase rising up out of it, and several other doors leading off. The place was bigger than anything she had ever seen. Paintings lined the walls, with heavy drapes at the windows; she felt as though she had stepped back in time.

  Twirling around, she took it all in, the carved rails of the staircase, the head of a dragon rearing from the ground forming the newel post. Above her the vaulted ceiling displayed a painting of a dragon fighting a man in armour.

  "Wow," she said, placing her luggage down and spinning around slowly to take it all in.

  "St. George. Our story is a little different from that told on his saint’s day."

  "Don't tell me. The dragon won."

  "Do you honestly think a man could beat a dragon?"

  She thought of the blue vial in her pocket. "I'm sure there are ways."

  "Not then."

  "Have you always lived here?"

  "Yes. We come and we go, but always return."

  "We? I thought you were the last?"

  He blocked her way, his body rising above hers, dangerously close. "Why are you here, Serena? To mate with me or to learn all my secrets?"

  She shrunk back from him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. It doesn't matter. Please show me my room. I understand you don't want my stupid questions."

  She picked up her suitcase and waited for him to move, again he simply watched her.

  "I live here with my brother,” he snapped. “There's no point hiding that from you; he will make a nuisance of himself and insult you. It's what he does best."

  "Your brother? Here?"

  "Yes."

  "I was told only you lived here." She hadn't expected this, and her plan was in jeopardy. Her instructions were clear; she only had one vial, and getting the dragon out once he was poisoned might not be so easy if his brother saw what was happening and stopped her. She glanced up at the ceiling once more, seeing the flash of the sword and the flames engulfing the wielder. That might very well be her fate if she wasn't extremely careful.

  "And who told you that, Serena? I have so many questions myself. It is not common knowledge that dragons even exist. There are stories and myths, but no one really believes them."

  "I heard it from an old man."

  "His name?"

  "I forget."

  He leaned down towards her, his lips so close to hers she thought he would kiss her. She licked her lips involuntarily, waiting for the first touch, but only his breath caressed her skin. "I have little patience, but I'm going to let this go for now, because when I mate with you there will come a point when you will tell me everything I want to know. You will beg me to let you talk just so it will end."

  She looked up into his deep brown eyes. Red flecks made them dance, as though he was made of fire, and the flames licked at the windows of his soul. "I am used to enduring pain."

  He lifted his nostrils and breathed in her scent. "Who said I was going to hurt you, Serena? I have spent centuries discovering the weakness of humans, and I find that the thing that gives a person the most pleasure is the one best used for leverage."

  Serena backed away from him, holding her bag close to her. "I'm ready to see my room now," she said dismissively, but inside she trembled, and he knew it.

  "Very well. I'm sure you're eager to prepare yourself for tonight. I can assure you it will be a night you will never forget."

  He lifted her large suitcase effortlessly and carried it up the stairs, not bothering to turn around to see if she was following. He knew she was obedient, but she told herself he didn't know why. Maybe he did believe it was for the money. Samuel had told her how much to ask for, but that was the icing on the cake for the man who controlled her.

  Perhaps the dragon suspected there was more to this bargain. She didn't know and tried not to care. Did he guess she was after the chi
ld dragon, believing she would try to sell it, or use it for her own gain? She expected he had some plan to keep her here until she gave birth to the aberration. What he didn't know was she had the power to take his will from him, his very soul. The small blue vial in her pocket held the answer to all of her problems.

  Chapter Four – Connor

  Her scent filled his nostrils; it teased him, threatening to control him. Never had he met a woman like this, and he thought back to the myths of the dragons and remembered those that spoke of finding a true mate. He had always thought they were fairy tales, but now he wondered differently.

  Trying to remind himself she was trouble did no good. On showing her the room he had set aside for her, he was tempted right then to throw her on the bed and take her, but the rites were important if he wanted her to carry his child. It was vital that her blood spilled on the altar when the moon was full. To curb his appetite for her he left her alone, finding it easier to control himself when there was a solid wooden door between them.

  "She came, then. I must say, I'm surprised."

  Connor looked up to see Zoah’s face. "What, that she would bear being a virgin sacrifice? Or that she would agree to mate with me?"

  "She does know all it entails?"

  "Not unless someone else has told her." Connor walked away from the door, not wanting her to hear their words.

  "You don't know who's behind this?"

  "No."

  "And it doesn't concern you? Because I can tell you it concerns me."

  "Are you frightened, little brother?"

  "No. But we've lived quietly for a generation or two. I would love to know who put her up to this and why."

  "You think it's any different now than before? Gold, power—aren't they the usual things humans fight over?"

  "Yes. But power is a moot point surely. It's not like the days when you fought against swords and spears. These days they would shoot you down with a heat-seeking missile. Boom! And your scales are sent to the four corners of this accursed world."

  "That is why we keep a low profile. Anyway, I think they want the child she'll conceive. Young, easy to train. My guess is that she will try to kill me, if she actually gets pregnant, of course. I’m sure it hasn’t escaped your notice, but neither of us has ever accomplished that vital deed, yet."

  "So trusting, Connor. I'm proud of you; I thought you'd gone soft."

  "Not soft, but I plan on getting the truth from her and then dealing with the men who control her. She'll have our child here or in the mountains; depends on whether we have to leave."

  "Does that mean this might have a bloody ending?" For once Zoah’s tone lifted.

  "What do you think?" Connor went into his own room, and before he shut the door told Zoah, "Just be ready to leave in a hurry if things get a little messy."

  "Don't worry. There’s nothing holding me here. And anyway, if there's killing to be done, I will be offended if you don't include me in your plans."

  Connor closed the door, shutting Zoah out. His brother always thirsted for blood, and it was often the reason they moved away from the house, sometimes for a generation, until they were forgotten. Then they would return, but they were so seldom seen in public no one could recognise them if they passed them in the street, a thing they both preferred.

  If they entertained women, it was always in a town or city hundreds of miles away. A dragon could cover that distance in such a short space of time; it was safer that way.

  Until Serena.

  It was a risk having a woman here who lived so close, but it was done now, and as he had told Zoah a few nights ago, he was bored; and the risks made his blood run hotter than it had for centuries.

  Serena was bringing him back to life after centuries of his body and heart being dormant.

  Chapter Five – Serena

  "Hey, kitty," Serena crooned as she pulled the scruffy bundle of fluff from her bag. "You were so good to keep quiet; we didn't want that big, bad dragon to eat you up."

  She stroked the soft fur of her tabby cat, Hope. A ridiculous name considering the predicament she was in, but ever since she found the half-dead cat in the gutter she had tried to hang on to the belief that things could change, could get better. That was Serena's problem: despite everything, she was an incurable optimist.

  "Let's get you some food, and then we'll find a place for you to hide. It'll only be for a few days. I'm sure we can handle this. It's not like he's going to be coming to our room to pay social visits."

  Serena opened the closet, and found it empty. She quickly unpacked her suitcase, hanging up her clothes, not that she'd brought many, and then made a bed for Hope at the back of it. Once satisfied, she opened a can of food and fed a purring Hope. The logistics of this were going to be a problem, but she was sure she wouldn't be confined to the house. There had to be a way of getting rid of any trash. Apart from that, she would simply keep the bedroom door shut, and hide Hope when she left the room.

  She was certain all her duties with the dragon would be confined to sex. That thought stuck in her mind. In a couple of hours she was going to be at his complete and utter mercy. It was what she had agreed to, what she had to do, but until now, she had never seen it as real. For so many years, she had been told to save herself for this night, warned of the consequences to her family if she didn't. Now, with the time so close, she felt sick to her stomach.

  Wiping away a tear, she stroked Hope again, as always, finding comfort in the purring body of her cat. The times she had cried herself to sleep with Hope in her arms were beyond count. "I'll find a way to make us safe, Hope. You, me and Charlotte, I'll get us away from all this."

  Hope looked at her with those eyes that held so much trust. The same expression Charlotte had worn on her face when they came to take her away. It had been unexpected. Serena had always known it would happen one day, but Samuel had given no warning, no time for goodbyes. Charlotte had simply said, "I love you," and gone quietly, knowing too well there was no use in fighting.

  Was she safe? Had they hurt her? The thought was too much. While Samuel had never raped Serena, they had made her do vile things, but her innocence was too precious to them. Charlotte was only fifteen; she prayed they wanted her to remain untouched too.

  Looking at her watch, she decided to get herself ready; a bath would soothe her nerves. Samuel had insisted she take no drugs to ease her suffering for the night ahead, the child she might conceive too precious to be put at risk. Serena smiled. Perhaps one day she would find a man who thought more of her. Right now, the only men who knew she existed were after one thing, and one thing only: her body to be fertile enough to hold a demon spawn.

  "OK, Hope, let's go and get cleaned up." She picked up Hope and went to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

  Placing Hope on the floor, she ran her bath, putting her headphones on and losing herself in music while the minutes ticked away. With her eyes closed, she missed the sight of Hope fluffing up to twice her size and hissing, missed the way she went to the door and sniffed the air coming under it. By the time Serena got out of the bath, Hope was settled down on a towel cleaning herself, as if everything was as it should be.

  "You're going to have to get off there, I need to dry myself." Serena gently pushed Hope off, and rubbed her curvy body with the towel. Her image looked back at her from the steamed-up mirror, fuzzy and disjointed. This was the last time she would see herself as a virgin.

  Would he mark her? She wiped the steam from one corner, and examined the scar on her shoulder. It wouldn't be the first time.

  Wrapping the towel around her, she padded quietly back into her room, and dried her hair as best she could. Sitting in front of the mirror, she examined her face. Puffy and red from the steam, her large blue eyes looked back at her; the dark shadows from so many sleepless nights making her look far from attractive. So pale, such a contrast to the dark brooding dragon, his skin all tanned and toned. At the thought of him her stomach flipped. She placed her hand ther
e, shocked. This wasn't fear; she knew what that felt like. This was different—a warm sensation that filled her and made her ache with a need she had never felt before.

  Perhaps it was a safety reflex, because if he didn't arouse her in some small way, this was going to be even more painful.

  ***

  "It's time," she said to Hope, who had fallen asleep in the closet. "I will see you later. I hope." Closing the door, she suddenly felt guilty for bringing Hope here. If the dragon killed her tonight, then Hope would die of hunger in the closet. Yet to leave her at the apartment wasn't safe: Samuel might very well let himself in and search the place for any money she might have. What was hers was his in his eyes. If he had found Hope, he would have wrung her neck.

  A sharp knock on the door made her start. She quickly closed the closet and went to the door, taking a deep breath before opening it.

  "You're dressed." It was an accusation.

  Serena looked down at the pretty dress she wore. "I ... I wasn't sure what you expected." He stood, devouring her with his eyes. "I can go and take it off." She blushed furiously.

  "I think I can manage that."

  "No. I'll go and change."

  "There's no time." He turned on his heel and marched off, Serena closed the door carefully behind her and followed him, having to half run to keep up.

  Down corridors and up another flight of stairs, he took her deeper and deeper into his lair. She could easily get lost in this house. Maybe she should just duck down one of these other corridors and disappear. Too much at stake, she reminded herself, and ran a couple of steps to catch him up, breathless now from the exertion. The dragon was taking it all in his long stride.

  Two large, ornate doors stood on the other side of the last room they entered. He stopped and turned to her. "This is the only chance I will give you to leave."

  "I thought you already told me once I crossed the threshold it was too late."