Page 66 of Dragon Compelled
Bingo, Mag, and Blossom appear beside me, but I wave them off, calling up my dragon, who is desperate to reduce these creatures to ash in one breath.
Constantine clears his throat, offering a sharp, “Hold” to his bodyguards. They stop, and I pause as scales begin to replace my skin, my dragon all too eager to cut down every single one of these beasts including the monster who brought them here.
“Aries, I can see you're letting your temper get the best of you,” Constantine says, “so I’ll remind you that your winged counterpart has a tendency to incinerate anything in its path...which now includes a library full of dusty, old books that will go up like tinder.”
Shit.
I glance around at the shelves and realize he’s right. With considerable effort, I manage to shove my dragon back down again. When I’ve regained control, I curl my hands into fists and start for the giant, prepared to fight as a man.
Already, I can feel Paige’s fear spiking and—
“Not so fast.” Oliver’s sharp, jumpy voice is completely changed from the smooth, friendly talker he pretended to be before. I glance at him and freeze, fear slamming into me as I realize he has Paige in his grasp, his bloody blade pressed to her throat.
Bingo bares his teeth, growling at Oliver.
“Let her go,” I demand, every cell in me screaming to kill him as fast as possible.
Paige’s eyes are wide as she stares back at me, but she doesn’t move or speak. I can see the blade pressing firmly enough that any movement would likely cut her.
“Not yet, loverboy,” Oliver sneers, and I make a promise right here to give him a very slow death when the time comes.
Constantine comes to stand beside the traitor who is apparently his nephew. “Relax. Oliver isn’t here to hurt anyone,” he says.
“You expect us to believe that? He just murdered that guy,” Blossom says, jerking her thumb at Phillip whose blood is now puddling beneath his body where he fell. “And I’m going to bet that he’s the one who killed Tawny.”
“Fine. He’s not here to hurtanyone else,” Constantine corrects. His gaze flicks from me to Blossom. “He’s just making sure everyone fully considers the consequences before doing something stupid.”
“What the fuck do you want from us?” Mag demands, stepping forward to reveal his body an ashy grey since it is now made of stone rather than flesh. I know he wants to kill them almost as badly as I do.
“Nothing from you,” Constantine says. “You’ve already done so much, little keeper. In fact, you all have. Working so hard around the clock to protect this place.” Oliver snickers, and my eyes narrow, but I keep my gaze on Paige and the blade pressed against her skin. “And to reward your hard work, I’m giving you a much-needed break,” Constantine adds. “You’re all officially relieved of your duty.”
“What?” Blossom demands.
“You’re not in charge in here,” Mag tells him.
“That’s where you’re wrong.” Constantine reaches into his coat and pulls out a book. It’s vaguely familiar to me, but apparently the others recognize it because the gnomes all scream again, this time chanting a word I instantly know.
“Vetus, Vetus, Vetus.”
“That belongs to the library,” Mag says.
Constantine’s eyes are lit with victory. “No, this collection now belongs to me—and that means the library does too.” He opens the book, lifts a hand, and reads off words in a language I don’t understand.
Paige struggles against Oliver, but he whispers something in her ear that has her paling as she stills.
“What—” Blossom begins but stops as the lights begin to flicker around us.
One by one, the lights wink out, the power to the entire library shutting down until we’re plunged into absolute darkness. The hum of magic or power that’s been a constant in this place since I arrived is suddenly silent.
A feeling of dread slithers up my spine.
A monster or creature threatening those I love is something I can fight. But whatever Constantine’s done, this is a threat I cannot see much less kill.
In the darkness, the gnomes begin to whimper.
I take a step forward as my eyes adjust, intent on ripping through the giant with the mace while he is hopefully blinded. But then the lights begin to come on again, this time with an orange glow emanating and a hum in the air that is much softer than before.
The books on the nearby shelves begin to shake.
