Dragonswan Read online

  It was this kind of internal struggle that caused the madness in their youth. And if he didn't restore the balance soon, his powers would be permanently scarred. "Jet lag from the time-jump," he said.

  Forcing the dragon back into submission, he didn't speak to Channon while she ate. He allowed her the time to experience the life and beauty of this time without intruding on her. Gods, how he ached to make her stay here. He could take her right now and bind her to him for the rest of his life. It was fully within his power.

  But he couldn't do that to her. The man in him refused to claim her against her will. It had to be her choice. He would never accept anything less than that. Channon frowned as she noted the seriousness in Sebastian's eyes. "Are you sure you're all right?" she asked.

  "I'm fine. Really."

  She still didn't buy that. The musicians paused and the crowd clapped for them. As she applauded the musicians and dancers, Channon became aware of something on her hand. Frowning, she studied her palm. "What in the world?" Sebastian swallowed. Up until now he'd used his powers to shield her from the marking. But his powers were weakening...

  She tried to rub it off. "What is this?"

  He started to tell her the truth, but it wedged in his throat. She didn't need to know that. Not right now. He didn't want to destroy the fun she was having by interjecting such a serious topic. "It's from the time-jump," he lied. "It's nothing major."

  "Oh," Channon said, dropping her hand. "Okay."

  The musicians started up again. Sebastian excused himself from her. Channon frowned. Something in his demeanor concerned her. He walked too deliberately with his spine rigid and his shoulders back. Following after him, she watched as he left the hall and went outside. He rounded the side of the hall and headed toward a small well.

  Channon stayed back while he pulled water from the well, then removed his mask and splashed the water over his face. "Sebastian?" she asked softly, moving to his side. 'Tell me what's wrong with you." Sebastian raked his gloved hands through his hair, dampening it. "I'm okay, really.”

  “You keep saying that, but..."

  She placed her hand on his arm. The sensation of her touch rocked him so fiercely that he wanted to growl from it. His body reacted viciously as desire tore through him.

  The dragon snarled and circled, demanding her. Take her. Take her. Take her. No! He would not cost her her life. He would not endanger her. "I shouldn't have brought you here, Channon," he said as he turned his powers inward to harness the Drakos. "I'm sorry."

  She smiled at him. "Don't be. It's not turning out so badly. It's actually kind of nice here."

  He shut his eyes and turned away. He had to. The beast inside was snarling again. Salivating.

  Claim her.

  It wanted total possession. And so did the man.

  His groin tightened even more, and he wondered how much longer he could keep that part of him leashed.

  Channon saw the feral look in his eyes as he raked a ravenous look over her. Her body reacted to it with a desire so powerful that it stunned and scared her. She wanted him to look at her like that. Forever.

  His breathing ragged, he cupped her face in his hands and pulled her close for a fierce kiss. Channon moaned at the raw passion she tasted as she surrendered her weight to him.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and felt his muscles bunch and flex. Images of last night tore through her. Again she could see his naked body moving in the moonlight and feel him deep and hard inside her.

  Sebastian growled at the taste of her, at the feel of her tongue sweeping against his. Out of his mind with the passion, he pinned her against the wall of the gate. He wanted her no matter the consequences, no matter the time or place. Channon felt his erection as he held her between him and the wall. As if magnetized, her hips brushed against him. She wanted to feel him inside her again. She wanted nothing between them except bare skin.

  "What is it you do to me?" she breathed.

  Sebastian pulled back as her words penetrated the haziness of his mind. Still, all he could smell was Channon. Her scent spun around his head, making him even dizzier. He dipped his head for her lips, then barely caught himself. Hissing, he forced himself to release her. If he kissed her again, he would take her here in the yard like an animal, without regard to her humanity, without regard for her choice.

  Claiming was a special moment, and he refused to sully it like the Katagari. No, he wouldn't take her like this. Not out here where anyone could see them. He would not let the Drakos win.

  "Channon," he whispered. "Please, go back inside."

  Channon started to refuse, but the steeliness in his body kept her from it. "Okay," she said.

  She paused at the corner of the hall and looked back at him. He was now leaning over the well with his head hung low. She didn't know what was wrong, but she was sure it wasn't good.

  "Ha, take that!"

  Channon turned at the sound of a child laughing. She saw the two boys with wooden swords who had been fighting Sebastian earlier. They ran across the yard. "I will kill you, nasty dragon," one boy cried as they ran into a forge where the blacksmith cursed and chased them out, telling the tallest that he should be home eating. She shook her head. Some things never changed, no matter the time period. Curious about what else reminded her of home, she crossed the yard.

  Sebastian breathed deeply, trying to summon his powers back to him. This was not good. If he stayed around Chan-non, by the time Friday arrived, he wouldn't be able to face the Katagaria trio.

  He had to have his powers back, intact and strong, which meant that he would either have to claim her or find some place safe for her to stay so that he could get distance from her.

  Because if he didn't, they would both die. "Bas?"

  Sebastian looked around the yard, trying to find the source of that whispered call. It was a nickname no one had used in centuries.

  Gold flashed to his right. To his shock, Damos appeared, then collapsed on the ground. Like a wounded animal, his brother held himself on all fours with his head hung low.

  Unable to believe his eyes, Sebastian went to him. "Damos?"

  Damos lifted his head to look at him. Instead of the hatred and disgust he expected to see, Sebastian saw only pain and guilt. "Did you get the tapestry?" Sebastian couldn't answer as he saw his brother's face again. The two of them were almost identical in build and looks. The only real difference was in their hair color. Sebastian's hair was black while Damos's was a dark reddish-brown. And as Sebastian looked into those eyes that were the same color as his own, the past flashed through his mind.

  "You're nothing but a cowardly traitor. You've never been worth anything. I wish it had been you they tore apart. If there were any justice, it would be you lying in the grave and not Antiphone." The cruel words echoed in his head, and even now he could feel the bite of the whip as they delivered the two hundred lashes to his back. Battered and bloody, Sebastian had been dumped in a cesspit and left there to die or survive as he saw fit.

  He'd crawled from the pit and somehow found his way into the woods, where he'd lain for days floating in and out of consciousness. To this day, he wasn't sure how he'd survived it.

  "Bas!" Damos snapped, wincing from the effort as he pushed himself slowly to his feet. He staggered, and against his will, Sebastian found himself helping his brother to the well where he propped him.

  Damos's long reddish-brown hair was lank and clotted with blood and snarls. His face was battered and his clothes torn. "You look like hell."

  "Yeah, well, it's hard to look good when you're being tortured." Sebastian knew that firsthand. "You escaped?"

  He nodded. "Where's the tapestry?”

  “It's safe."

  Damos locked gazes with him. "Were you really going to trade it for me?"

  "I brought it here, didn't I?"

  Tears gathered in Damos's eyes as he looked at him. "I am so sorry for what I did to you."

  Sebastian was stunned. So, Damos did know
what an apology was. "The Katagaria told me what happened that day, how they tricked you." Damos placed his hand against the scar on Sebastian's neck that Sebastian had received while trying to save Antiphone's life. "I can't believe you survived them. And I can't believe you did this for me."

  "Not like I had anything better to do."

  Damos hissed and placed his hand to his eyes. "Those damned feelers. They're trying to find me."

  Sebastian went cold. Without his powers, he couldn't sense the feelers, but if they were sending them out for Damos, then they would find...

  Channon!

  His heart pounding, he ran for the hall.

  Channon wished she had her notepad to take notes on everything she saw. This was just incredible!

  Enchanted, she walked idly past the stalls and huts, looking inside to see families eating and spending the evening together.

  "You look lost."

  She turned at the voice behind her. There were three men there, handsome all and quite tall. "Not lost," she offered. "Just out for a bit of fresh air." The blond man appeared to be the leader of the small group. "You know, that can be quite dangerous for a woman alone."

  Channon frowned as a wave of panic washed over her. "I beg your pardon?”

  “Tell me, Acmenes." The blonde spoke to the tall brunette beside him. "Why do you think an Arcadian would bring a human woman through time?" Panic gone, sheer terror set in, especially since the man was speaking in modern English.

  She tried to head back to Sebastian, but of the third man caught her. He grabbed her right hand and showed it to his friends. "Because she's his mate." The one called Acmenes laughed. "How precious is this? An Arcadian with a human dragonswan."

  "No," the brunette said, "it's better. A lone Sentinel with a human mate." They laughed cruelly.

  Channon glared. She might look harmless, but she'd been on her own for quite some time, and as a woman alone, she'd learned a few things.

  Tae Kwon Do was one of them. She caught the man holding her with her elbow and twisted out of his grasp. Before the others could reach her, she ran for the hall. Unfortunately, the Katagaria moved a lot faster than she did and they grabbed her before she could reach it.

  "Let her go." Sebastian's voice rolled across the yard like dangerous thunder as he unsheathed his sword.

  "Oh no," Acmenes said sarcastically. "This is the best of all. A Sentinel who has lost his powers."

  Channon's heart clenched at their words.

  Sebastian's smile was taunting, wicked. "I don't need my powers to defeat you." Before she could blink, the Katagaria attacked Sebastian.

  "Run, Channon," Sebastian said as he delivered a staggering blow to the first one who reached him.

  Channon didn't go far. She couldn't leave him to fight the men alone. Not that he appeared to need any help. She watched as they attacked him at once and he deftly knocked them back.

  "Um, Acmenes," the youngest Katagari said as he picked himself up from the ground and panted. "He's kicking our butts."

  Acmenes laughed. "Only in human form."

  In a brilliant flash, Acmenes transformed into a dragon. The crowd that had gathered at the start of the fight shrieked and ran chaotically for shelter. Channon stumbled back.

  Standing at least twenty feet high, Acmenes was a terrifying sight. His green and orange scales shimmered in the fading daylight while his blue wings flapped. He slung his spiked tail around, but Sebastian flipped out of the way. The other two flashed into dragon form.

  Sebastian held his sword tightly in his hands as he faced them. Even if he still held his powers unsevered, he wouldn't have been able to transform. Not while in the middle of a human village. It was forbidden.

  Damn you, Fates.

  "What's the matter, Kattalakis?" Acmenes asked. "Won't you breech your oath to protect your humans?"

  Bracis laughed. "He can't, brother, his powers are too fragmented. He's powerless to stop us."

  Acmenes shook his large, scaled head and sighed. "This is so anticlimactic. All these years you've chased us, and now..." He tsked. "To comfort you as you die, Sebastian, know that your dragonswan will be as well used by all of us as your sister was."

  Raw agony ripped through Sebastian.

  Over and over, he saw his sister's face and felt her blood on his skin as he held her lifeless body in his arms and wept.

  "Kill him," Acmenes said. Then he turned toward Channon. The dragon beast inside Sebastian roared with needful vengeance. He'd been unable to save Antiphone, but he would never let Channon die. Not like that. Ceding his humanity, he let loose his shields. His change came so swiftly that he didn't even feel it. All he felt was the love in his heart for his mate, the animal desperation to keep her safe regardless of law or sense.

  Channon froze at the sight of Sebastian's dragon form. The same height as Acmenes, his scales were blood red and black. He looked like some fierce, terrifying menace, and she searched for something to remind her of the man he'd been two seconds ago.

  She found none of him. What she did see terrified her.

  Acmenes swung about to face Sebastian as he savagely attacked the other two dragons. Fire shot through the village as they fought like the primeval beasts they were.

  Then, to her horror, she saw Sebastian kill the dragon on his left with one sharp bite. The one on his right stumbled away from him in wounded pain, then took to the skies.

  Acmenes reached for her, but Sebastian tackled him. The force of them hitting the ground shook it. They fought like men, slugging at each other, and yet like dragons, as their tails coiled and moved trying to sting one another. She cringed as both dragons were wounded countless times by their fighting, but neither would pull back. She'd never seen anything like it. They were locked in the throes of a blood feud.

  Acmenes hefted his body and threw Sebastian over his head, then rolled to his monstrous feet. He stumbled as he tried to reach the sky, but before he could leap, Sebastian caught him through the heart with his tail.

  "Dragon!"

  Now armed and prepared, the men of the village came running back to do damage to the creatures who had invaded them.

  At first Channon thought they came to help Sebastian, until she realized that they intended to attack him.

  Without thought, she went to him. "Run, Sebastian," she said. He didn't. He turned on her with frightening eyes, and in that moment she realized the man she knew was not in that body.

  The dragon snarled at her as the crowd attacked him. Throwing his head back, he shrieked.

  To her shock, he didn't attack the people.

  Instead, he grabbed her in his massive claw and took flight.

  Channon screamed as she watched the ground drift far away from her. She had no idea where he was taking her, but she didn't like this. Not even a little bit. "Sebastian?"

  Sebastian heard Channon's voice. But it came from a distance. He could only vaguely remember her.

  Vaguely recall...

  He shrieked as something flew past his head. Looking behind him, he saw Bracis coming for them.

  And with the sight, his human memories came flooding back. "Sebastian, help us. We 're trapped by the Slayers.”

  “I can't, Percy. I can't leave Antiphone."

  "She's safe in the hills. We are in the open, unprotected. Please, Sebastian. I'm too young to die. Please don't let them kill me. I know you can beat them. Please, please help me."

  And so he had heeded the mental distress call and gone to protect his young cousin and brother, never knowing Percy's cry for help had been a trick, never knowing that Percy had deliberately summoned him from the cave.

  He'd found his cousin barely alive and learned too late they had forced Percy to call for him.

  By the time he'd returned to the cave where he'd left his sister hiding, the Slayers were gone.

  And so was his sister's life.

  Devastated on a level he'd never known existed, he'd refused to speak up in his own defense when his people had
banished him.

  He'd offered no argument at all against Damos's insults. He should never have left Antiphone unprotected.

  Now he looked at the woman he held cradled in his palm. Channon.

  The Fates had entrusted this woman to him, just as his brother had entrusted Antiphone to him.

  He would not let Bracis have her. This time, he would see her safe. No matter what it cost him, she would live.

  Sebastian headed for the forest.

  Channon held her breath as they landed on the ground in a small clearing. "Hide." The word seemed to sizzle out of Sebastian's dragon mouth. She went without question, running into the trees and underbrush, looking for someplace safe. The forest was so thick that she quickly lost sight of the dragons. But she could hear them as they fought. She could feel the ground under her shake.

  Grateful for the green dress, she found a clump of bushes and crawled into them to wait and to pray.

  Sebastian circled around Bracis, enjoying the moment, en-joying the feel of the dragon blood coursing through his veins. For two hundred and fifty years he had dreamed of this moment. He had dreamed of drinking from the fount of vengeance. Now the moment was upon him.

  Bracis was the last of the Slayers left from that day. One by one, Sebastian had hunted them all down. He had hunted them through time and even space itself. "Are you ready to die?" Sebastian asked his opponent.

  Bracis attacked. Sebastian caught him with his teeth and clamped down on the Katagari's shoulder. He tasted the blood of the beast as Bracis shredded at his back with his claws.

  Sebastian barely felt it. But what he did feel was the fear inside Bracis. It swelled up with a pungent odor so foul that it made Sebastian laugh.

  "You may kill me," Bracis rasped. "But I'm taking you with me." Something stung Sebastian's shoulder. Snarling, he jerked his head around to see the dagger protruding from his back. But it wasn't the steel that stung; it was the poison that coated the blade. Dragon's Bane.