Blood of Dragons (30 page)

A little line forms on her brow.  “I am not sure you are well.  You need more rest.”

I laugh which startles her.  “Rest is not what I need.  What I need is for you to Fall with me.”

Adriel leans back from me as if my craziness is contagious.  “Fall?  With you?”

I nod and keep my distance, trying not to startle her more.  “To help our mutual friend.”

Her eyes light up.  “Xandra is alive as well?”

“Thanks to you, yes.”

Adriel shakes her head.  “I have done nothing to earn that compliment.”

I cannot help myself; I put my hand to her cheek again.  “It was you who gave her the key to winning her battle with Belial.  You cared for her while she was here, keeping her safe and undiscovered.  You are responsible for saving her.  You have also been a good friend to her, protecting her when necessary on other occasions.”

“Raziel,” she says attempting to stand up.  “I am sure you will feel better soon.  I should not impose my presence on you any longer.”

I stand up with her and grasp her shoulders.  “Adriel, please listen to me.  When I changed Xandra’s destiny, I changed my own as well.  It is not Xandra that I need to make my heart whole again.  It is you.”

She stumbles backwards but I catch her before she falls.  “That cannot be true.  I am a lower Angel.  Archangels do not find mates among us.”

I grin at the term mate.  Xandra hates that term when used to explain a loving relationship.  “I know that you love me.”

Adriel’s eyes become downcast.  “We are supposed to love all of our fellow Angels.  Especially Archangels.”

I put a finger under her chin and lift her face so she is forced to look at me.  “That is not what I mean and you know it.  Remember, I know everything.”

A little of her strong personality begins to shine through finally.  “That has not been true recently, Raziel.”

I chuckle and drop my hand.  She doesn’t lower her eyes again.  “No, but that was a necessary part of my journey.  The knowledge was still with me but the Seraph of Joy kept it hidden until I was ready to see it.  You are my destiny now Adriel and I am more than happy to spend eternity proving it to you.”

She blinks several times.  Yes, it will take some time for her to believe me.  She doesn’t have the knowledge in her heart yet like I do.  Right now though, I need to convince her to help Xandra once again.  That requires her to Fall with me.  “Adriel, we must take our Fallen forms to guarantee that Xandra can do as she is meant to do.”

“But I have never Fallen before.”

“I will show you how it is done.”  I hold my hand out to her and after a moment of hesitation, she finally places her palm on mine.

“Are you ready?” I ask.

Adriel shakes her head.  “No.” 

She will get over that.  I say the words that will allow us both to Fall.  In an instant, we are in the spot that Xandra, Kallen and I shared just a short time ago.  Adriel spins around when she feels her wings are gone and that makes me laugh.  “You will get them back someday,” I assure her.

She gives me a doubtful look.  “Nothing is as it is supposed to be lately, so please forgive my doubts.  I am not prepared for all of these changes.  Nor for your declaration of love.”  Her face begins to color as she realizes that I had not actually used that term yet.

I pull her close and whisper in her ear.  “My love for you has always been in my heart because it is our mutual destiny to be together.  I simply needed to find the path to it.  There is great joy in our future together.  I can see it now.”  I kiss her cheek and then step back and offer her my hand again.  “Do you trust me?” 

She ponders that question a bit longer than I care for, but after a moment she smiles.  She slips hers in mine and we walk the short distance to the rebel camp.  Adriel is still in shock but I feel the kernel of hope that is building inside her. 

We arrive just as Xandra is laying out her plan.  It is a risky endeavor and I am proud of her for ignoring the doubts of those around her.  I am also aware that being in her presence does not bring the familiar pain I have become accustomed to.  I squeeze Adriel’s hand and smile down at her confused face.  She thinks I have gone mad.  On the contrary, I have once again become sane.

Chapter 38 – Xandra

“There is no talking you out of this?” Isla asks me.

I shake my head.  “No.  This is what I’m supposed to do.  I’m supposed to help bring peace amongst the different races.  Remember the prophecy?”  Why do I have to keep bringing this up?  They were all terrified of the prophecy forever; so it’s not like they’re not familiar with it.

She obviously remembers but I think she’s trying not to at the moment.  Turning to Garren, she asks, “What is the best way to approach the Dragons with this proposal?”

He looks at her like she’s crazy.  “You want to go to the Dragons that already want us dead with this inane idea?  What would their motivation be to agree?  This is their realm and we have no business trying to change their entire way of life.”

“There is only one thing that can motivate a Dragon to do something it does not want to do.  A more powerful being.”

I whirl around to see who said that because it can’t possibly be who I think it is.  I’m wrong.  It can be.  And he has someone who looks an awful lot like Adriel with him.  But she doesn’t have wings.  He’s also holding her hand.  I kind of expect a little pang of jealousy but it doesn’t come.  With their golden haired beauty they make a striking couple.  I’d be happy to see them together and happy.  Adriel has obviously been lusting after him for a while so this is perfect.

A grin breaks out on my face.  “You both Fell?”

Adriel returns my grin a little shyly which is weird for her.  “Let me guess, it was the lack of wings that gave it away?” she asks.  There’s my sarcastic friend.

I laugh and go to her so I can give her a huge hug.  Standing back, I look back and forth between them.  “What’s going on?  Why are you here?”

Raziel answers.  I think that’s because Adriel doesn’t have the answer.  She looks almost as confused as I am.  “We have come to help.”

Mortain has moved to Raziel’s side and with his big nostrils flaring he smells him.  Then he smells me.  He’s a strange little Goblin.  Stepping back he says in an accusing voice, “You once smelled of him but you do not anymore.”

I think we should keep that explanation on a need to know basis.  “It’s a long story.  I’ll tell you all about it another time.”  Not really.  I’m telling a big fat lie.  “Right now, we have some Dragons to convince.”  Turning to Gowarth, I say, “You’re on the same page as us, right?”  He has the most to lose if this doesn’t go well.

He looks horrified.  “Page.  What page?  Goblins do not read.”  Well, at least he got the reference.  I wonder how they wrote that ransom note then.  I guess Tabitha must have written it for them.

I sigh.  I guess I have to spell it out for him.  “Maybe we can fix that someday but one thing at a time.  Are you willing to go before the Dragons and tell them that you don’t want to breed your own kind anymore as their food?”

It takes a minute but he finally nods his head.  “Yes.”  He looks pretty scared about it so I’m impressed he agreed.  He must have been feeling guilty for a long time to agree so quickly.

I look around at the others.  “Unless someone has a better plan, I’m just going to do this like I usually do things.”  I expect a resounding no from everyone.  I’m hoping someone has a better plan.

“What does that mean?” Garren asks.

“She is going to charge in and confront the Dragons head on,” Isla explains.  Is that pride in her voice I hear?  She hates it when I do that.

Garren shakes his head.  “Do you have a death wish?” he asks me.

“Xandra is not destined to die on this day,” Raziel assures him with a wink towards me.  That’s good to know.

Kallen pulls me into a hug and gives me a light kiss.  “Your way always seems to work out.  I am ready when you are.”  Wow, what happened to me having to be more cautious?  I guess they all really want to get out of this realm as soon as possible. 

I smile up into the love in Kallen’s eyes.  I hope he can see mine just as clearly.  “Is everyone ready?” I ask, not taking my eyes from Kallen.

“Why the hell not.  Cannot live forever I suppose,” Garren grumbles.  Everyone else says yes.  Kallen drops his arms and moves to my side, tucking my hand in his. 

“Okay, I need everyone to touch me.”

They gather around me.  Raziel and Adriel put their hands on my back.  Tabitha decides to stay in case a Dragon scout finds the camp.  Isla and Garren both touch my arms.  Mortain and Gowarth climb onto my feet and hold onto my calves.  My toes want to protest.  They’re a lot heavier than they look.

Despite massive misgivings and the fact that I haven’t really seen a Dragon up close yet, I use the picture in my mind that Raziel left and teleport us to the Royal Court.  Wow.  Their teeth are huge.  And their fire?  It’s a bit warm.  Even with the wall of magic I put up to stop it.  Obviously, they’re not happy to see us.

“You
dare
show your face again?” a humongous red and silver Dragon asks.

I look up at his giant lizard face and say, “Um, technically I’ve never been here before but yes, my face has.  Ow!” I whirl my head around to Adriel.  “That hurt.” 

She tilts her head and raises her brows.  “It was supposed to hurt.  Quit antagonizing the pissed off Dragons.”  Both Raziel and Kallen do a chuckle/cough thing.

I give her a sour look and then turn my attention back to the three Dragons, wait, there’s two more now.  Where’d they come from?  Sneaky bastards.  Since they’re not spitting fire at us and they seem to want to talk, I let down my magic wall as a show of good faith.

“Tell us why we should not kill you instantly,” an ancient sounding Dragon says. 

Okay, who forgot to tell me that Dragons have really bad breath?  I guess that makes sense considering their diet.  I should have left the magic up.  “I have a proposition for you,” I say trying to inch away from the rancid breath of the old Dragon.

I’m guessing the Dragon who answers is in charge because they’re all flanking him.  “Who are you of such an inferior race to offer a proposition of any kind?” he asks.

I’m actually impressed they’re talking this much.  I expected a fight as soon as we got here.  “I’ve been given the fantastic job of trying to bring peace to the supernatural world.”  That wasn’t facetious at all.  I love this job.  Really.

Yes, even Dragon eyes can look at you as if you are stupid.  “We have peace.  It is you who is causing conflict.”