The Witch and the Dragon Ch. 20

The warriors rushed through the secret passage. Commander Braze lead them through winding tunnels until they climbed up a narrow leaf strewn tunnel and surfaced in the heart of the Lumar's kingdom.

Zak, Remi, and Seth rushed forward, swords in hands to where the sounds of battle rang out.

Just over the crest of a hill, Zak looked down and stopped in his tracks. Trolls. Not just any type of troll. Fire trolls. He'd thought they were merely legend, but down in the valley below were over a hundred glowing trolls, spewing fireballs at the warriors desperately trying to cut them down.

Remi gave a victorious yell and scampered down into the burning valley, flames already streaming down his body.

"That's my boy," his father yipped behind him, also running down the side of the hill. The man was unarmed, but already his dragon's wings were pushing out of his back as he shifted into his beast.

Eriel stood next to Seth, arms across his chest. Zak stiffened when he felt his father come up next to him. The other warriors were running down into the fray of battle, uncaring of the flames.

Zak turned his head to look at Zakreel. The golden weredragon stared at him sullenly.

"They were hard times, little one. We were being hunted." He took a deep breath, looking down at the battle below. "We'd lost One of Dava's babes and were trying to find him."

"Lucien?"

"Aye. Remuel and I did everything we could to survive."

Zak clenched his fists and stepped up against his father's broad chest. He was actually a few inches taller than the weredragon and seemed to outweigh him by a hundred pounds of solid muscle. "You did everything, including selling your own children."

Zakreel scowled. "I didn't sell you. I was approached by a woman who offered me a handsome amount of credits for a sample of my sperm. I was desperate. The Edenian guardians had Drakken. He was going to be executed..."

"Don't mean to interrupt, but I think they need us down there," Seth said putting his hand on Zak's shoulder.

Zak turned to Seth who already was unsheathing his second sword. The weretiger didn't say another word and turned to head down the hill. Eriel opened his wings and sailed down on a current of air.

Zak didn't wait any longer. Gripping the hilt of his sword tighter, he began running down the side of the hill.

He felt scorching heat before him, rolling against his flesh from the brush burning below, but a burst of scalding air slapped his back, letting him know his father had shifted. A dark shadow flowed over his head and he felt his skin itch when he caught sight of Zakreel soaring into the valley below. The dragon looked as if made of pure liquid gold, his wings capturing the dimming light of the setting sun and reflecting it back like fire.

Zak cursed and rushed faster. He raised his sword and swung just as he reached the bottom of the hill. Fire burst as the blade cut into the hard metallic back of the fire troll. The creature screamed, throwing his head back. The warrior it had been trying to cook alive scurried out from beneath his glowing metal shield. He thrust his sword into the creature's belly as Zak hacked the troll's stubby legs. The creature fell with a clang to the ground and burst into blue flame.

A blast of cold air almost made Zak fall back. He shielded himself with his forearm and looked up. Remuel soared over his head absorbing the heat of the flames that dance along the ground. The fire flickered and died out leaving patches of ice, to Zak's surprise. He could see the fire within the trolls ebbing and dying, leaving the creatures weak and vulnerable. Remi was glowing, as if he were about to shift, but Zak realized both red dragons were simple soaking up all the fire around them, and as a result were killing the trolls.

Eriel landed in the midst of the trolls still spilling out of the forest. His wings were open, his eyes black, and full of death. He smiled while his dark hair flowed in the breeze away from his beautiful face.

"Come to me, little ones," he said holding out his arms, his head tilting sideways in a childlike gesture. "Let me love you."

The air around Eriel distorted, like ripples of heat. The effect billed out like a jellied cloud, sweeping over the multitude of approaching trolls. They stopped, as if frozen, their metallic skin turning white. Eriel fanned his wings in a slow gentle sweep. The trolls disintegrated, like burnt paper, their ashes scattering in the breeze like flakes of snow. A reaper in full killing glory.

They continued to fight for hours. Zak could not believe the amount of trolls and devils that kept appearing. Of course, if the mages were behind this, all they had to do was keep building their magic until one side grew tired enough to give up.

The warriors never gave up. Zak was amazed at their strength and stamina against something supernatural.

Zak's body ached and was covered in sweat by the time the last troll and devil fell defeated. The sun was already low in the horizon.

A roar of victory echoed in the valley, swords rose. Some of the warriors were hurt, burned, and bloody, but it seemed no one was killed. Lumar's warriors were legendary fighters. It would take more than a handful of trolls to wipe them out.

In the middle of the field, striding toward the golden dragon was a tall blond man. The way he walked seemed familiar to Zak. His eyes narrowed on the man with the golden hair, but a mask made of metal covered his face. A dark cape fluttered behind him. He put his hand on the dragon's snout, speaking to him.

Seth trotted back to Zak. His right arm was singed, but aside from that, he had no other injury.

"That was actually fun," Seth panted, his eyes shining.

Zak scowled. "I'm going back for Luna."

He turned to leave, but Seth's hand on his forearm made him stop to look into the weretigri's face.

Seth brows drew together, a little line he hadn't noticed before denting the otherwise smooth perfection of his skin. "We need to go slow, Zak."

Zak jerked his arm free of Seth's grip. "Fuck slow. This place is a disaster. I'm not leaving my woman and my children here. I'm leaving and I'm taking them with me. To hell with the Arborian Master Guardians, the L-O-S, and everyone else who's trying to keep us apart." He began stomping his way up the hill again. "I've had enough of this bullshit. Fucking trolls, and witches and who the fuck knows what the hell else will come at us."

"Look. I agree with you," Seth said trying to keep up with him, "but she doesn't remember who you are. She's going to be scared, confused."

"I'll take her home. I'll let her have her own room and win her back"

"Really?"

Seth sounded incredulous. Zak scowled down at him. "I'm not a heartless son-of-a-bitch."

"What about her father?"

Zak stopped midstride and swerved to growl at Seth. "Whose side are you on?"

Seth held up his hands. "I'm just trying to be reasonable. " Somebody got the king to fall for a faerie knowing that native Arborian males mate for life."

"What the hell are you getting at, Seth?"

"Just listen to me a second. Lumar falls for a faerie princess, gets her pregnant, the baby disappears and the princess mind is wiped clean of ever having known him. He won't lie with another woman, so he never has another heir to take his place. The royal line dies with him and the planet is suddenly up for grabs."

Zak scrubbed his face with his hands in frustration. "So you want me to walk away from Luna? Leave her and my daughters behind?"

Seth stared at him. "No, Zak. I just think we should get to the bottom of this. We're taking the man's only child away. Least we can do is try to fix the situation with him and the Fae princess..."

Zak folded his arms over his chest and smirked. "You want to get the king back with his true love? Remi's match-making shit is rubbing off on you."

Seth scowled at him. "Don't compare me to that conceited prick."

"What'd I do now?" Remi said popping in next to them with a smug grin on his face.

Seth rolled his eyes.

Zak turned and began to walk back up the hill. It was almost dark now. By the time they reached the opening of the cave over the sea, it would be dark. He was anxious to get Alluna back to the safety of his room. He'd sleep outside her window if he had to, but he definitely not leaving her side ever again.

Zak stiffened a bit when Remi's father rejoined them. At least his own father stayed away this time. Looking over his shoulder, he still saw the strange masked man talking with Zakreel and Eriel. Zakreel's eyes followed his progress up the hill. He looked contrite, sad, but Zak would not let that sway him. Too many years of hurt to erase right away. He needed to get his woman back to safety. Maybe later he could sit and talk with his sperm donor... maybe.

They crested the hill and stopped. At the foot of one the trees that house a few families, was a young girl. She was curled in on herself, legs tucked up against her chest and face buried in her arms, sobbing.

She wore a deep red hooded cape, patent leather maryjanes and delicately knitted white socks that came to her knees.

"Hey, are you okay?" Remi asked as they all approached and knelt by her.

Luminous blue eyes looked up at them. She wore a blue dress and had two coppery braids trailing down her chest.

"It's dark and I can't find my way home. I was on my way back from grandma's house, but the fighting scared me and I hid up here. Now it's too dark to go back. I'm scared."

Zak bit his lip. The little girl obviously needed to be escorted back home. It was dark and the forest was no place for a little girl to be wandering all by herself after dark.

Zak extended his hand to her and she smiled, placing her much smaller hand into his to allow him to help her stand.

He gaped when she did. She wasn't so little after all. Her dress was altogether too short, showing enticing little thighs and small breasts pressed against a too tight bodice. Zak frowned down at her. "How could your parents let you out so late?"

She batted long lashes at him. "I'm an orphan. I live with Mama Goose."

Zak snorted. Figures. No man would let his pretty daughter out so late... and dressed so provocatively. He planned to make sure his girls always wore full body suits and never wandered far from his sight.

Mama Goose?" Remuel whistled. "That's four days journey from here. How did you get here?"

"I hitched a ride on a blue dragon, but I have no idea where he might be now."

Remuel snorted. "Blue dragons are unreliable. I can take you back. Wanna accompany me, son?"

Remi grinned with a shrug. "Sure." He looked at Seth and Zak. "You guys don't mind, do you?"

Seth frowned. "After what just happened? I don't think it's safe outside the kingdom walls."

Both red weredragons puffed out their chests in pride. Like father, like son Zak mused.

"We're not afraid of anything, are we son?"

Remi snickered. "No way. We kicked those trolls ass."

"What if the mages send in something else? It'll just be the two of you out there?"

"Seth's right," Zak seconded. "Maybe you should wait until daylight."

"What for? If the mages send any more creatures to attack, they'll send them during the day as well as night. Makes no difference."

"We can take care of ourselves," Remi said placing his hand on Zak's shoulder. "You just make sure you keep Luna safe."

"Luna?" Remuel questioned.

Remi grinned at him. "Princess Alluna is Zak's girl. We're here to take her home."

Remuel looked at Zak with big sparkling green eyes. "Sooo. You're the one who got her with child."

"That's right," Zak scowled at him.

The red weredragon said nothing more. They turned and began walking back down the hill with the girl between them.

Zak turned on his heel and strode back to where he remembered the entrance to the tunnel lay. In the distance, he heard Brock calling out to him. Anger tinged his voice, but Zak ignored the annoying warrior. He picked up his pace until he was running

"They're gaining on us, Zak," Seth panted next to him. "I get the feeling Brock is interested in Alluna. He wants to be next in line for the throne, and winning Luna's hand is a sure way to get there."

Zak picked up his pace, but he sensed the powerful Arborian warriors looming closer.

He unsheathed his sword. "I'll kill the fucker."

"No. I'll shift. You can ride my back and I'll get us the mouth of the cave faster."

Even as he spoke, his voice grew more animalistic. He passed Zak in the tunnel, disappearing in the darkness ahead.

A low rumbling growl filled the air. Zak ran faster as well, until he came up behind the twenty-foot tiger, hunched down, back to Zak. Zak leapt onto the white tiger's back and held on tightly when the feline surged forward. He had to crouch low, hugging the giant cat's back, feeling the powerful roll of muscles undulate against his chest and thighs. What took almost a half hour before only took a few minutes now. Seth's speed in shifted form was amazing.

The salty air blasted against Zak's face and soon the roar of the pounding sea filled his ears. Thunder rolled in the sky and the wind howled through the cave. The coming storm had churned the sea up into a roiling mass of murderous waves. Zak wasn't sure he was strong enough to fly in such weather, but the thought of his sweet Alluna out there in the dark in a storm-tossed sea made his gut twist with anxiety.

There was a strange energy in the air that made his unease grow. It was as if the wind cried out his name.

"Zaaak, help me."

"Shit," he cursed before plunging off the cliff's edge.

***

The water was cold, and dark, but the hands that gripped her ankles and pulled her down were colder. The babes in her womb stirred. Fear. Her babies were scared.

Anger boiled in Alluna's veins and her body began to glow beneath the inky black sea water. The mermaids' faces looked at her in alarm. They were not pretty creatures. Their hair swirled around their scaly fish-eyed faces. Full lips pulled back to reveal their needle-like teeth as they dragged her deeper.

"Release me," Alluna ordered startling them.

One of them swam up to her face. "How can you speak to us underwater? You should be drowning."

Alluna gripped the creature's face and let a surge of power flow from her into the mermaid.

The scales disappeared and her bones shifted beneath her flesh. The mermaid's eyes rolled in pain and she opened her mouth to scream. Nothing but bubbles flowed from her mouth. She began to thrash against Alluna's hold until she released herself and swam frantically for the surface.

The other mermaids attacked Alluna, but she struck them all with her power, causing the same distortion to their features. Soon she floated alone in the dark sea.

Alluna kicked her feet and struggled to reach the surface again. Now that her anger was simmering down, she felt the press of the water against her lungs and feared that whatever was keeping her from drowning was quickly fading.

She burst up to the surface with a gasp. Air rushed into her lungs and she coughed up a few mouthfuls of water. Crying and sobbing caught her attention.

"What did you do to us?"

She looked around and saw that all of the mermaids looked like pretty maidens now. No more ugly scaly skin and fish eyes. They stared at their hands and face in horror.

"We can't breathe underwater anymore."

"Serves you right trying to drown me," Alluna spat. Thunder cracked across the sky, lightning dancing over the water in a surreal display.

"B-but we still have our tails. What are we supposed to do now if we can't go back to our underwater home?"

Continuous rolling thunder had Alluna gazing up. The reaper swooped down from the roiling black clouds that had draped across the night sky.

"Zaaak," she cried out, lifting her arms. He'd come back. He'd come to save her.

He swooped lower, reaching down to lift her from the rolling sea.

The mermaids began to hiss and screech. Jumping up to grab at him, trying to pull him down into the water.

"Kill him. Drown him," they screamed.

"Nooo," Alluna shrieked as they clung to his legs pulling him down. He cursed when one of them bit his calf. Luckily, they no longer had sharp teeth and his boots were thick. He kicked them loose and gripped Alluna. They tried to grab her legs to pull them both into the water, but she kicked also.

The reaper pulled her higher into the night sky until they were far away enough that he pulled her up into his arms. He whimpered and they lost a bit of altitude.

"Zak, what's wrong?" she cried out in alarm.

He looked into her eyes. "I need to land. I'm not used to flying so long.

Alluna thought that strange, but didn't argue. He headed for the royal ship and landed gently on the deck.

The minute his feet touched the deck, he was surrounded by female guards. They surrounded him with swords.

Zak went to his knees with Alluna wrapped tightly in his arms.

"No," she pleaded. "Don't hurt him. He saved me."

She felt him jerk in her arms and turned to stare at him in worry.

His mouth was open, eyes wide for a few seconds before he crumbled to the deck, unconscious. A metal pin, as long as her finger stuck out from his neck. A poisoned dart.

Alluna screamed. "What have you done to him?"

Her hands began to glow again and she looked up at the queen with a snarl. Queen Lukresh had a long slender tube in her mouth. She seemed to lean toward Alluna and blow.

Something sharp pricked her neck and her vision swam.

Alluna raised her hand to the side of her neck and felt a pin similar to the one sticking out of Zak's neck embedded in her skin.

Oh, no.

The queen's smile was the last thing she saw before everything went black.

***

Zak's arms ached, his neck and back were afire with tension. He groaned and lifted his head. Pain shot down his arms making him almost scream. He was tied between two posts, wearing nothing but his Arborian underwear. A thin strip of material covering his manhood tied to a strip of leather around his hips. His hair was unbound and hung over one shoulder. His back was bare. Completely bare. No wings.

He instantly knew the shit had finally hit the turbines.

"Damn," he sighed, knowing he'd been found out. So much for pretending to be a reaper. If he were lucky, they might recognize him as Zak Wilder, intergalactic rock star and cut him some slack. Hell, he wouldn't even mind posing for pictures and signing autographs.

He looked around at the hostile faces surrounding him and gulped. Seth was an asshole for thinking he'd be recognized on this backwards planet. His rock star status meant nothing here.

The masked man approached Zak. Zak frowned at the pale blue eyes gazing at him from behind the silver mask. Ice-blue eyes.

"You're in deep shit now, Goliath," the man growled in a low voice for Zak's ears only.

"Who the fuck are you?"

The man grinned and Zak gasped.

"No way," he breathed incredulously. But as the man turned and presented him with his back, Zak stared at the thick blond braid that hung half way down his back. Blond hair, a thousand shades of shimmering gold.

"Fucking Lucien," Zak snarled.

Lucien spun around. "General Luke Black."

"Lucien of Angelos. Son of the angel of destruction. The dark prince," Zak spat.

Lucien stepped up to him in two long strides and gripped his neck in a chokehold. "

"Careful, Blondie. Most of the men including the queen are crying out for your blood. As general I managed to bargain for a good whipping instead of an execution."

Zak stared at him, confused. "Why?"

Lucien laughed without humor. "If anyone kills any of you, I think it might tip Devon over. He'd go full demon and start a bloody rampage."

Zak laughed. "You're fucking crazy. He might have his blood tainted with Davariel's demon blood, but it's you who's fucking evil. You're the one trying to release Lucifer."