Dragon Devotion Read online

  They certainly don’t seem like the most welcoming lot, now do they? He could tell that the woman wasn’t a village native. The pale white skin that showed on her face and hands, the little skin that was exposed, was nothing like the dark-tanned complexion of those who faced her.

  He felt sorry for her as the mob closed in. His attention almost wavered, not wanting to see the conclusion. It didn’t though, which allowed him to watch in full detail as the unknown woman turned and simply jumped, clearing most of the wall in one go. Her hands grabbed the top and she vaulted the rest of the way over in one smooth move.

  Ferro blinked.

  Then he did so again, trying to convince himself he hadn’t actually seen what he’d just seen. That wall was a solid ten feet high. There were a few shifters he knew who could have done what she did. But not many. It confirmed one thing however: she wasn’t a human.

  The rest of the puzzle fell into place after that. It made sense now why a backward, out-of-the-way village would be hunting her in the middle of the night with torches. And pitchforks too, he saw in disbelief. He couldn’t believe people still did that. He watched, wondering what type of shifter she was. A newblood, perhaps, just come to her powers? That might explain why she had done something that revealed herself to the agitated villagers. That didn’t explain her ability to clear the wall, however.

  “Shit,” he muttered to himself as a crossbow bolt flew from the darkness, impaling her right calf clean through. The woman cried out and tumbled to the ground, her momentum preventing a clean stop.

  Villagers streamed to other places on the wall, where ladders leaned against it. They were going to catch her, there was no doubt. Ferro considered the options, and whether he should intervene or not. As if on cue, the woman’s head snapped up, eyes into the sky. She is likely praying to her god. Something about that assumption just didn’t sit right with him. It wasn’t until he realized her head was moving and her eyes were open and focused that it became clear. She was looking at him.

  Hell. He didn’t have much of a choice now. He wasn’t going to willingly abandon her. Life was valuable, but Ferro considered a female shifter to be several degrees above that. The way shifter genetics worked, the odds of a female child of a shifter being blessed with an animal of their own was extremely small. Coming to the acceptance that he had to intervene, Ferro knew he had to do so soon. There wouldn’t be much time before the villagers caught up with her.

  He folded one wing in, the air speed forcing him into a high-speed turn. Aimed at the area between her and the oncoming villagers, he pulled the other large membrane in tight against his body. He plummeted from the sky like a shadow of death. Ferro had no intention of killing anyone, but if he gave them that impression, it was much more likely they would scatter.

  Plummeting to the earth, he once again snapped his wings open as the ground rushed up at him. He kept his legs oriented downward this time, until he slammed into the ground. Dust and small debris flew through the air, the cloud enveloping the oncoming villagers. They stopped, coughing and hacking on the particles swirling through the air. It was a harder landing than he would have preferred. His leg muscles screamed at him in protest, but they accepted the sudden deceleration.

  He waited patiently, slightly offset from both parties so that he could view the oncoming villagers and the unknown woman. She might be a shifter, but he had no idea who or what she was. After everything that had been going on lately, he intended on being far more careful than might have been necessary.

  “Enough.” The single word cut through the silence that had descended upon the villagers at the sight of him.

  He didn’t blame them. A massive dragon the color of rust and measuring more than one hundred feet from head to tail had just dropped out of the night sky in front of them. On top of that, it had spoken to them. The chattering of voices in a foreign language told him he might have spoken in vain, since they wouldn’t understand a word he had said.

  “It is the Apocalypse,” said one of them.

  Ferro’s swiveled to impale the man with a yellow-eyed stare. He was a little taller than the others, with a slightly lighter skin as well. He also clearly wore garments of a higher quality. A large wooden cross hung from some sort of metal chain around his neck. He clutched it tightly, holding it in front of him as he began to whisper phrases in Latin.

  The dragon shifter winced. He had been around when Latin was the spoken word of the world. What the man was saying had clearly been butchered by time and lack of education. Instead of saying “Oh Lord, help us and save us, Your glory over all,” he was actually saying “Old man. Your gory over all us.” He tried not to laugh, knowing that would not help the calming of the situation.

  “Send them home, reverend,” Ferro told the man, singling him out by speaking in English once again.

  A voice shouted in the background. The response was ragged and uneven. A second voice from the other side echoed the call. The crowd stiffened its spine as someone else took up the call.

  Mob mentality. It never ceases to surprise me.

  The villagers at the front took a few tentative steps forward, brandishing the torches in his direction.

  “Fire?” he said with frustration. “I shall show you fire.”

  He inhaled sharply, his lungs swelling up to much larger than normal size. The villagers drew back. Taking hold of his inner dragon, he opened his maw and unleashed his irritation. A stream of intense flame burst forth from within him, the red-blue flame searing a line in the ground. He dragged it forward, separating the villagers from him and the injured woman.

  In his peripheral vision, he could see the female shifter struggling mightily to pull the crossbow bolt from her leg. He knew it would heal, and she should know it as well. But something like that still hurt like all hell. Pulling something from your own wound was a tough call. Especially when it had a spiked end to it that insisted on ripping flesh as it went.

  The villagers scrambled back as the flames seared the air, causing a reddish tan on some of the closest of the mob. Even as he watched, they still didn’t disperse. Angrily he shifted from his dragon form to human, hoping that seeing him look more like them might convince them to leave.

  “Go!” he shouted, waving his hands at them from across the field of fire.

  This time several of the villagers at the back seemed to follow his word. He almost sighed in relief, until the flicker of torchlight glinted off some metal. There was a distant twang and the crossbow discharged another bolt, this time in his direction.

  An honest to goodness crossbow. Seems so out of place these days.

  But it wasn’t. Ferro knew what types of people used those. It didn’t bode well for what was to come.

  All of these thoughts took place in the split second the bolt took to cross the distance to him. If it had been aimed at a human, they would have taken it in the chest. Ferro was a dragon shifter, however, and had a long time to hone reflexes that didn’t decay as he aged. He spun, moving his body out of the way. In its place, he left his hand. The bolt was already losing speed by the time it got to him, but it pierced his hand nonetheless. The force was spent, however, so the bolt only stuck out halfway from his palm.

  “Are you nuts?” The woman, who had just finished pulling the bolt from her leg wound, was looking at him in shock.

  “No, but I suspect several people in that crowd are,” he said, turning back to face them. He had many questions for her, but just then, he needed to deal with the others.

  Holding up his hand, he made them watch as he slowly pulled the bolt through his palm without even a wince. There was pain, but he had long since learned to ignore it for the time it took to heal. As he held his hand up for the villagers to see, he focused, ignoring the hole. He let them watch as it slowly closed of its own accord.

  “Go!” he shouted, and this time they did. Even the trouble makers—who he had only ever caught a glimpse of through the crowd—left, leaving him alone with the woman.


  He waited until the last of them disappeared back down the wall before he went to her.

  “Are you okay?” he asked. She had risen to her feet, but was hunched against the rock. “Miss?” he asked, laying a hand on her shoulder. He had meant it as a comforting gesture. A crossbow through the shin was no pleasant issue. So when she spun and hammered her palms into his sternum, it caught him completely by surprise.

  As did the fact that he suddenly found himself flying through the air.

  Chapter Three

  Ana

  She hit him with everything she had. It cost her, because her leg flared with pain as she pivoted and put far more weight on it than the abused limb could handle. She fell to one knee, watching the result of her blow.

  The dragon shifter bounced once and then sailed over the wall. She caught a glimpse of the look of complete surprise on his face, a sort of slack-jawed, wide-eyed look that told her nobody had hit him like that in a while. There was a loud crash as he slammed through at least one wall. Any more sounds were muffled by the falling debris as part of the building caved in around him.

  Knowing the sounds of his landing would attract others, she took off. The forest was close now, and once she reached it, she could hopefully lose any more pursuers. There were at least three rivers running nearby that she could use to throw off any trace of her scent. The hardest part would be reaching one of them before someone caught up with her.

  Especially with this gimped leg.

  It would heal—she knew that—but it was going to be a bit before it stopped whining at being used. Each step was agony, though it was still thankfully easier than pulling the damn thing from her leg. That had hurt.

  Glancing back toward the town, she froze as two figures emerged from the background. Her stomach dropped. She knew the one she hit back at the bar couldn’t have been alone. They rarely operated like that when coming after her. Usually in pairs or a trio. This time it appeared to be a trio.

  Not good. I can’t outrun them, and I certainly can’t outfight them. Think, Ana. Think harder than you have in a long time. You’re going to need something brilliant to get out of this jam.

  Cursing her luck, she stood up and faced the duo. This was why she had hit the first one without warning, or even a thanks for keeping the villagers off of her. He may have come swooping in to “save” her from the villagers, but as soon as she had seen him circling overhead, it became clear that the entire thing was a setup. The angry mob was a diversion, used to get her to trust her would-be savior. Once he was in close with her, it was over. Unless she hit him first.

  Her eyes darted around the open field as she backed frantically away from the two men. No, not men. Shifters. Likely dragon shifters. They had been pursuing her for some time now, but this was the closest they had ever gotten to her. Usually she was at least one, if not two steps ahead them. Not this time. You really fucked things up now.

  “Well come on then,” she said in exasperation, waving her hands in the air and stopping her slow hobble.

  The pair of them were still maintaining their distance. One of them was gesturing angrily at the building their comrade had leveled. The other was shaking his head and pointing at her. They were arguing over something, and neither of them acknowledged her weak challenge.

  “What the hell is going on?” she muttered, resting on her good leg while she crossed her arms. It was working to her advantage, however, because the longer they waited, the more her leg would be able to heal. If it healed enough for her to run, they would never catch her. It was a long shot, but there weren’t many options on the figurative table in front of her either. So she stood and waited, watching the reactions of the two of them.

  Why did they care so much about the building? It would certainly be the first time any of the members of the shadowy group trying to capture her had shown remorse for collateral damage like that. She could recall at least once where they had severely hurt a human in the process as well. This was most unlike them.

  Could she have killed the third member of their team? It seemed unlikely, given the nonchalant way he had flown through the air. The look on his face, besides that of shock, had almost been one of dull resignation now that she thought back to it. Not only that, he was a dragon shifter. He could take the blow she had dished out.

  There was a rumble of masonry and stone, and then a chunk of building wall lifted into the air from out of sight and hit the ground, rolling over several times.

  “Ow,” came an annoyed voice, as the man she had hit vaulted into view, clearing the wall from below with an ease that made her eyebrows reach for her hair.

  He just cleared that like it was nothing.

  She was in a world of trouble. Whoever this man was, he was in a whole different weight class. Regret for her brash decision to hit him flooded through her. All she had done was make him mad. He approached, his angle forming the third point of a triangle between them. Long-fingered hands brushed dust and debris from his clothing.

  “Who are you?” he asked, the firm tenor voice cracking across the space between them like a whip.

  She kept quiet. Something about the way he looked and stood gave her the indication that he was talking to the others.

  “What is your purpose here?” the larger one responded brusquely, ignoring the question. The smaller man next to him had looked ready to respond, but he let his companion take the lead.

  “She was in trouble,” he said with a gesture toward her. “Life of our kind is important.”

  The smaller man bristled, and this time he did not restrain himself. “She is not like us! This abomination must be stopped.” He all but shrieked the last sentence, spittle flying from his face as he stabbed a finger in her direction.

  Ana’s blood boiled. “What the fuck did I ever do to you?” she snapped, taking a step forward. Forget the odds, she was going to hurt him.

  The larger of the two took a step forward. “You exist,” he said clinically. “That is unacceptable, and we are here to ensure you don’t.” He shrugged. “Exist, that is. It is nothing personal of course, but that is the way it is.”

  This was the first conversation Ana had ever had with the people who had been chasing her. For months now they had been trying to catch her, ever since the first aborted attempt by a pair of bear shifters. So it was also the first time any of their motives had been made clear to her.

  “You know, I happen to enjoy existing,” she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “So, if it’s all the same to you, just tell me where to go that I won’t run into you, or offend your delicate sensibilities, and we can call this a day.”

  The little man began to shake as his eyes bulged. Little wasn’t really a fair word, she decided. He just was smaller in stature compared to his companion, who was well above the average.

  “There is nowhere, nowhere you can go that we won’t find you!” he yelled. “This planet is not meant for those such as you.”

  The third man, who had stayed mostly quiet until then, stepped forward. “I must confess to missing something here. What, exactly, is wrong with her that she can no longer be allowed to live?” His voice dropped an octave as he injected steel into it. “And who gave you the order to do such a thing?”

  So much was going on, Ana felt like she was losing her grasp on the conversation. All this new information, new parties, it was threatening to overwhelm her. Hopefully this starts sorting itself out, and soon! My head is beginning to hurt worse than my leg trying to make sense of it all.

  “Yes,” she said, agreeing with the newcomer. “Please, do start laying things out simply, if you don’t mind? If I’m to die, I’d really rather do so without the headache of trying to understand all this shit.”

  Internally, if she were honest, Ana knew what they meant and what it was they despised about her. It wasn’t as clear why they felt that way, but they did. All that mattered to her now was that she stayed alive.

  The two men ignored her, looking instead at the newcomer.

>   “Who are you?” the tall one asked slowly.

  “It matters not. The question that needs answering is, who are you?” he replied levelly. “I suggested you start answering it.”

  She hissed in surprise at the threat evident in his voice. Didn’t he know that they were both dragon shifters over there? She really wasn’t interested in watching them duke it out.

  The pair of men recoiled slightly in surprise at such a brazen line. “We are the Order. The Order wishes her dead. The Order sent us. It is that simple.”

  “What the fuck is the Order?” she asked aloud. “Does the Dragon Council know you hooligans are trying to act all grownup-like?”

  The tall one fixed her with a glare. “The Council is no more. The Order is what exists now.”

  Ana coughed to cover her surprise. The Council was “no more”? That sounded ominous. Twelve of the most powerful dragons on earth were reputed to be members. The Dragon Council had been around for as long as she could remember, and that was a long time. Although she had rarely ever interacted with the shifter world as a whole, everyone knew about the Dragon Council. You didn’t just up and “no more” it. That didn’t happen.

  Did it?

  She couldn’t think of what to say, but the newcomer had her covered. “The Council is no more? What happened to it?”

  His question was calm, but she sensed the deadly storm waiting, based upon the answer he received. The two Order members had better be very careful about how they answered, she thought. Otherwise, they might be in for a world of hurt. She still wasn’t convinced that the newcomer had completely friendly intentions for her, but he did seem to have an interest in her staying alive. That was good enough for her now.

  “The Order replaced it,” the taller man said dismissively. “This happened almost a year ago. Where have you been?”