Page 23 of Storm Dragon
“Or the hundred or so Sorcerers Milton has recruited and brought to Defiance from the deepest Pits of Hell,” Bridgette growled.
“I know,” Tamsyn whispered. Finally loosening the iron grip she had on her mental blocks, she reached for the man she’d seen in her dreams, the one who had called to her.
Following the mental connection glowing brighter than the sun at high noon on a beautiful summer day, flowing directly from her mind’s eye, she instantly found the man from her dreams. Unconscious and covered in dirt and mud, leaves and clay matted into his long red hair as it fanned out above his head like a huge, crimson halo-he was truly gorgeous, and the long, thick braid lying across his shoulder and chest wasn’t bad either. His beard was so long it touched the middle of his chest, and his mustache covered his entire upper lip. There was absolutely no denying that the man had been denied the basic creature comforts for longer than she could imagine.
Looking past the dirt and filth, she saw the strong line of his jaw, his high cheekbones, and his almost pouty upper lip peeking through his dark, wet whiskers. Glancing farther down, she saw threadbare scraps of clothing covering his body and whispered to Peaches, “I can see him, and the poor thing is in awful shape.”
“What does he look like? Is he handsome? How old is he? Do you think…?”
“I think you need to hush up and let me figure out what the hell is happenin’ on our mountain- in our cave- in the middle of a damn hurricane.”
Feet moving forward of their own accord, Tamsyn inched ever closer to the entrance of the cave. There was just something about that man. There was something familiar- like she’d met him somewhere other than her dreams, but she knew that couldn’t be true. He was someone she would have never forgotten.
But still…
He was different, unusual… special–and that wasn’t the half of it. Bridgette reached for the man like she knew him. Or, more to the point, that she wanted to get to know him in a very up-close-and-personal way.
Speeding up, skipping a beat, then slowing down, her heart instantly fell into sync with the stranger’s- or maybe it always had been beating alongside his, and it was simply confirming that he was real. The Mating Bond she’d always been told would spring to life in the very depths of her soul when she met the man made for her by the Universe flashed into existence with a shower of glittering sparks and mental fireworks.
She needed to know more about this man. She needed to know who he was and to get confirmation that he was who she thought he was.
Most of all, she needed to get him the hell away from Hettie and Milton, and she needed to do it as quickly as possible. There was no way of knowing how badly he was hurt, and there was no way she was going to take a chance that he would be harmed any further.
Scanning the interior of the cave with its many cubby holes and alcoves, Tamsyn was shocked to find that Hettie and Milton were all alone. There weren’t even any of the bats or rodents that usually followed in their wake.
“Not one single crow either,” Bridgette grumbled. “And I could do with a little snack.”
“Yuck,” Tamsyn growled. “Stop worryin’ about your stomach. We need to get in there and help that man.”
Feeling Bridgette’s renewed focus, Tamsyn scanned the cave one more time, confirmed Hettie and Milton were along, and seethed, “Those two by themselves can only mean one thing…”
“They are up to something so horrible that they don’t want any witnesses,” Peaches fumed.
“Not even the ones they can control,” Bridgette added with a sneer.
Summoning her courage as well as a double dose of good old-fashioned ‘throw caution to the wind’, Tamsyn made it precisely half a step before an onslaught of memories nearly drove her belly to the ground. Flashes of men, tall with broad shoulders and more Magic than she’d ever felt coming from a small group of Shifters, were hanging out and having what looked like a good time.
Paying special attention to the tallest one, the phrase ‘a man a few words and great actions’ appeared amidst the memories blinking on and off like the neon lights over Bubba’s Real Pit BBQ and Strip Joint in nearby Lone Digger. The air of Mystique around all the men was so real she could feel it as if it was wrapping around her, trying to protect her, putting itself between her and…
“Rise, Dragon of Legend. Rise from the ashes of your sleep.” The deep, rattling, wheezing voice of none other than Milton, the other half of the nastiest unholy matrimony to ever take place, slammed into Tamsyn like a ton of bricks. Goosebumps jumped to life, making the fur lining her spine stand on end with a gusto that caused more pain than she knew possible.
“Tams, dude, what is up with the mohawk? What are you…? Holy shit!” Peaches' snarky questions flipped to real concern, then jumped to freaked out in less time than it took for Tamsyn to blink her eyes. “Is that…? I mean, that can’t just be…? Is it just…?”
“Thank the Great Goddess I speak the same gibberish as you, Peachy, or I might think you’d had a stroke.”
“Ha. Ha. Ha. You are not funny. What I was trying to say was…”
But that was as far as Peaches got before Milton started again. He was louder and more insistent, and the amount of Black Magic he was conjuring grew with every beat of Tamsyn’s heart. Refusing to let so much as the tip of her right ear flick at the attack, the Bobcat Queen held tight to her incredible resolve as the Enchantment she’d felt in her mystery man’s memories grew by the same amount as the Sorcerer’s Evil Conjuring.
The man from her dreams… The man lying on the floor of the cave was an inch from death… The man she thought just might be her Mate was protecting her. He was trying to keep her safe. He was…
“Arise, Ruairí O’Clery of Clan O’Clery of the Red Diamond Dragons, Blessed by the Celtic god of Thunder and Lightning, Borrum, and Holder of the Blade of the Fomorians. Arise and embrace the Darkness. Turn from the Light. Let the fog of the Sorcery of Morana, the Celtic Necromancer, the First Child of the Darkness, the Mother of Shadows guide you on your journey. Rise and take your place at the right hand of Nuckelavee, the Great Horse Demon of the Highlands, as prophesied by the Dark Ones all those centuries ago.”
Ruairí…
The name had Tamsyn’s heart beating like a bass drum and her paws itching with the need to race to the man she believed just might be her Mate’s rescue. Not to mention, Bridgette hissing, “Fucking let me go, Tamsyn Elizabeth Ryder. Let me go in there and save our Mate!”
“Hold on, Bridge…”
