Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

" A what now?" Paige asked, her voice shrill with panic as smoke poured from the beast's nostrils.

"Dracopire. A dragon-like vampire. If it even claws you, it can put enough poison in your system to kill you. I know…I died from a Dracopire attack once."

"Huh?" Paige choked out.

"Yep, long story. Anyway, we definitely need to get out of this," Damien said, his arms stretched out to shield them as much as possible.

"Yeah, right. Uhh, can we run?"

"No, they can fly. They'll pick us off easily."

"What are we going to do?" Paige cried.

Dewey tore off his ring, morphing back into his dragon form. "Hey, buddy, you think you're so cool? Look at me. I'm a dragon, too."

The Dracopire drew his scaly chin back to his chest, his yellow eyes narrowing.

Damien shook his head. "Uh, you may not want to taunt him. They're angry."

"Well, so am I. I've got a splitting headache. I'm sick and tired of being human. If these massive things can stalk around here, then I can be a dragon again."

"Dragon," the Dracopire growled.

"They talk?" Paige's jaw fell open.

"Yeah, they talk. And they– "

"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in." Dominique strolled toward them past the Dracopire.

"Why is she not afraid of them?" Paige whispered.

"They're aligned," Damien explained.

"Aligned?" Dominique said with a chuckle. "No. I own them. They do my biding. Now, I– "

Her voice stopped as she stared at Dewey. "What is this?"

"Dragon," the dracopire answered.

"Yeah, I see that, Callun, but dragons aren't real. Plus…he's tiny."

"Teacup," Dewey growled back with his paws curled into tight fists.

Dominique's eyebrows pinched. "No kidding. Wow. You know, you'd look real cute mounted on my mantel."

"Hey," Paige said with wrinkled of her nose. "That's my teacup dragon you're talking about. Step off, lady."

"Or what? Will you wave that ridiculous bracelet at me and shout nonsense again?"

"Leave us alone, Dominique. You know Celine will never let you get away with hurting us."

Dominique doubled over in laughter. "As if she could stop me. I mean, let's get real, huh? Saint Celine barely can keep her life together. But you somehow think she's magically going to save you?"

"She's stopped you countless times before," Damien said with a shake of his head.

"That was before," Dominique answered, her eyes narrowing .

"Dominique, what do you think you're doing?" Marcus asked as he strode toward them.

She raised her eyes toward the sky at the sight of him. "Oh goody, the turncoat."

"I don't think you want to pick this fight with Celine. You know how she feels about Damien."

She stretched her hands to either side. "All the more reason to pick the fight. When did you turn into such a namby-pamby? Oh, right…that girl you married."

"Catherine has nothing to do with this discussion. Take your beastly friend and leave."

"Make me," she said with a raise of her eyebrows.

"If I must." He whipped a fireball into existence from nothing, leaving it floating above his hand.

Paige's eyes went wide at the sight. "Seriously? You have fireballs?"

Marcus lobbed it at Dominique who easily dodged it. "Weak. But I'm not surprised. You've really slipped lately, Marcus."

"I'm giving you a warning. Leave now."

"Or what? You'll throw another wimpy fireball at me? Are you even serious?"

Marcus heaved a sigh, his jaw clenching before he stamped a foot forward and threw his arms out to the sides.

Paige's gaze went skyward as black clouds darkened the horizon and thunder boomed. Lightning tore through the sky, and the ground shook underneath them.

Dominique grinned at his display. "That's super cute, boo, but really ineffective at scaring someone like me. Try again."

A massive burst of blue light arced out of his body, slicing through the air toward her. It smacked into both her and the Dracopire, knocking them both to the ground.

"Run," Marcus said.

Damien grabbed Paige by the hand and tugged her away from the scene as Dominique leapt to her feet, her nostrils flaring.

"Dewey!" Paige shouted, glancing over her shoulder to find the tiny dragon buzzing through the air behind them.

"I'm coming, Paige!"

"Hurry," Damien shouted as they dodged tree branches in a desperate attempt to escape the battle being waged behind them.

Paige instinctively ducked as a boom split the air. "What is happening? It sounds like the end of the world."

"Just Dominique and Marcus duking it out. It'll die down," Damien said as Alexander's house came into view.

They crossed the clearing and raced inside. Damien slammed the door behind them, flicking the lock.

"Wait, what if Marcus needs to get in?" Dewey asked.

"He can pick locks," Damien said, his head resting against the wood as he gasped for breath.

"D?" Celine appeared at the door leading to the sitting room. "What happened?"

"We got the keys. Dominique and a Dracopire tried to attack us." Damien peeled himself from the door with a sigh.

Celine's features twisted with worry. "What? Are you okay?"

"We're all fine. Marcus stepped in just in time."

"Thank goodness. And you got the keys?"

"We did," Paige said with a nod. "We're ready for the next steps."

Celine sucked in a breath. "All right. We've been researching the location, and we think we have it nailed down. It'll take a bit of hiking to get there."

Dewey huffed out a sigh, his paws curling into fists. "Please tell me it's remote enough that I can stay in dragon form. "

Celine chuckled at him. "Aroostook is quite remote, so once we start our trek, you'll probably be fine in dragon form."

Dewey blew out a sigh of relief. "Good."

"Not to be a pain," Paige said, shifting her weight from foot to foot, "but is there any chance we can leave right away?"

Celine offering her a consoling smile. "Absolutely. As soon as Marcus gets back, we'll head out."

"Marcus? But…" Paige's pulse quickened as heat washed over her. "What if… he's…"

"Dominique and Marcus can't defeat each other in a head-to-head battle, don't worry," Celine answered. "They're just getting their frustrations out. It'll die down."

Paige's forehead creased as she recalled the epic battle ensuing as they'd fled the area. " That's how they get their frustrations out?"

"We all tend to get our frustrations out that way," Celine answered. "Marcus and I have had some doozies."

"Well, not all of us." Damien waved his hand around in the air. "Some of us are still learning how to conjure fireballs."

"Oh, you can, too?" Paige asked.

"Sometimes. When I'm really scared or upset. And they're tiny. Nothing like Celine or the others."

"You'll get there, D," Celine said with a pat on his shoulder. "Until then, would you like a drink to try to relax?"

"Uh," Paige said, glancing down at the music box still clutched in her hands. "I…"

"Oh, here comes Marcus now," Celine said, her gaze flicking to the glass next to the door. "Good, we'll be able to leave soon."

The tension in Paige's shoulders released a little as she tried to focus on the task ahead. With any luck, they'd soon have the serum and be able to return home to save her mother. "Oh, good. No offense, but I just want to get this serum and head home."

"I understand. If it was Damien or Gray or anyone in my family, I'd feel the same way."

Paige nodded as the lock disengaged, and Marcus stepped inside.

"I assume things went well with collecting the keys?" he asked, one eyebrow arched high.

"We got them all," Paige said with a grin.

His expression did not change, stuck in an unimpressed stare.

Her smile faded quickly, and she turned more serious. "So, now we just need to find the location to use them."

"A location not easily accessible, though I assume you are willing to battle through," he answered.

"Lead the way." Paige pumped a fist in the air.

"You act ridiculous. Has anyone every told you that? I cannot believe you expect us to believe that we are fictional while you assume you are real."

"Ouch, buddy, that hurt," Dewey said as he landed on Paige's shoulder. "But…did you ever consider that you, too, act ridiculous?"

Marcus's eyebrows raised toward his hairline. " I act ridiculous? What a ludicrous statement. Have you ever seen me pump my fist in the air? Or giggle over something inane?"

"No, but you're kind of uptight. I mean, we all knew that from reading the books, but seeing it in person is another thing entirely." Dewey fluttered into the air, buzzing toward Marcus and landing on his shoulder. "Think about it. Is your life really normal? "

Marcus sneered at the tiny dragon perched on him. "My life is quite normal, thank you. I cannot imagine yours is with your asinine running commentary. You clearly are the snarky sidekick."

"You bet I am, bud. I take my role very seriously. I'm snark-tastic," Dewey said with a nod.

Marcus fluttered his eyelashes at the dragon. "Please remove your ‘snark-tactic' self from my shoulder, and we will proceed with the serum retrieval. If you can contain yourselves for the endeavor."

Dewey hopped off his shoulder and flew into the air. "Oh, we can. We have contained ourselves for plenty of endeavors. We've beaten werewolves, vampires, pixies, all kinds of things. We're here for it."

Marcus slid his eyes closed. "Your speech makes little sense. Obviously, you are here for the task. It would be impossible for you to complete the task if you were not here for it,"

"No, that's not…never mind. You're not cool enough to understand," Dewey said with a shake of his head.

"Shall we proceed?" Marcus said to Celine.

Dewey landed on his shoulder again and patted him on the head. "Lead the way, Marc."

Marcus heaved a sigh, his features settling into a frown. "Please do not call me that."

"Sorry, ‘Cus, nicknames are a thing."

"Let's get this over with, please," Marcus said, shooting a pleading glance at Celine. "I cannot stand much more."

"All right, well, we'll take two cars. You can ride with me, and D, you can take Paige and Dewey."

"Okay," he said with a nod.

They made their way from Alexander's house, crossing to a garage filled with vehicles. Splitting into two groups, they climbed inside two SUVs and settled in. Dewey, still in dragon form, nestled in the backseat, hidden from the windows.

"That Marcus is a real hoot, huh?" he asked as Damien fired the engine.

"Yeah, not really," Damien said, easing the car out of the garage and following Celine down the drive. "He's actually pretty mean sometimes."

"Aw, not really. He just plays at it. You know, the tough-guy act. He's a wounded hero. He's– "

"A jerk who almost ruined Celine's life. He's somewhat tolerable these days, but seriously? The hero worship from you two is…kind of bothersome."

"Don't get your knickers in a twist, Damien. You're pretty popular, too. I like your character, but…Marcus is just…bad-ass."

Damien flicked his gaze in the rear-view mirror, his features pinched. "Gee, thanks."

"No problem, buddy."

Paige stared at her dragon friend, her nose wrinkled. "So, I didn't really read all of the books, so I'm not sure, but…like all my friends like him."

Damien heaved a sigh as he followed Celine's car on the empty road. "I don't know how anyone could really like him. But whatever. Maybe we should discuss a plan on how you could let us know if this works? I'll be curious. And I know Cassie wants to know."

Dewey raised his fleshy eyebrows, a grin spreading across his features. "I can't wait to get home. I have so many ideas for paranormal romance right now, it's ridiculous. Try this on for size…worlds collide as a warlock meets a ghost whisperer and sparks fly."

"What?" Damien screwed up his face. "Are you serious? "

"I'm going to name the characters Damien and Cassie. Ho-ho, and it's going to be a lot of sparks."

Damien glanced in the rearview mirror at him. "No. No, don't write that. Also, don't use my name."

"Save your breath," Paige answered as she studied the pine trees surrounding them. "He wrote a paranormal romance about me and Devon, used my entire name unchanged, and the image on the cover is identical to me."

"Are you serious? This is like…illegal or something."

"Pretty sure it's not," Dewey said. "Most people would be thrilled to be in a book."

"Yeah, we'll I'm not. It's kind of weird. Especially a romance."

"Steamy, too," Dewey said with a chuckle. "Ohh, the steam I'll put in."

"Don't write that. Okay, you know what? Forget the plan to let us know what's happening. I don't want to know. Let's just find this serum and send you on your way."

"Just ignore him," Paige said with a wave of her hand. "You'll get used to it. I did. I can't believe it, but I did. And Devon is really into it. He can't wait to read it."

"That's messed up," Damien said with a shake of his head as they turned off the main road onto a small side road. "I think Celine knows the fastest way to get to this spot, so hopefully this won't take long."

In front of them, Celine eased the car off onto the side of the road. They piled out, the scent of pine even stronger than it had been on the Buckley estate.

"We'll have a bit of walking to do," Marcus said. "Would you like to fist pump about that?"

"No way, Marc," Dewey said. "I hate walking. I'll just ride on Paige's shoulder. Or yours. Would you mind?"

"I would. Please do not sit on my shoulder," the man said with a frown etched into his features .

"You can sit on mine," Celine said with a smile.

"Aw, thanks, Celine," Dewey said, landing on her shoulder and patting her head.

Paige crossed her arms as she trudged behind them. "Thanks, buddy. Really feel appreciated back here."

"Oh, Paige, I can ride on your shoulder anytime. When's the next chance I'll get to ride on someone like Celine's shoulder?"

Paige sucked in a breath, trying to steady her nerves as they traipsed through the woods for another thirty minutes until they reached a cave.

"This should be it," Marcus announced as they arrived. "The safe lies within the heart of the cave?"

"Heart?" Dewey asked. "Ugh, you're kidding. Couldn't they have put it right at the dang front?"

Marcus raised his eyebrows at the dragon's complaint before he clicked his tongue. "Let's proceed, shall we?"

Dewey fluttered back to land on Paige's shoulder. "Oh, now you want to hang out with me when we're going into the creepy cave, huh?"

"Well, technically, I'd be better off hanging out with Celine in the creepy cave. She's way more bad-ass than you. I mean, not like Drucinda level because she's too nice. But still…those fireballs are…something."

"Then, what did you come back here for?"

"Well, we always do this part together. You know…the big finish. The end run. The triumphant part. We always do that together."

A smile spread across Paige's features. "Yeah, we do. And surprisingly we get there, right? We've never been defeated before."

"Nope. We're pretty dang good at this, Paige."

They crept further into the damp cave, the natural light dying off. Fireballs flared to life in front of them just as Paige thought they should have brought flashlights along.

"Nice that they come with built-in flashlights, huh?" Dewey asked.

"Yeah, that's kind of handy," Paige said as they squeezed through a narrow part of the cave, spilling into a large chamber.

"Here we are," Marcus answered.

Paige wrinkled her nose as she scanned the space. "Where? There is nothing here."

Marcus rolled his eyes at her before he whipped his fireball across the large cavern. It slammed into a portion of the rock wall, lightning radiating across the walls.

Metal glowed hot as they closed the distance between them and the wall.

"Wow," Paige whispered, her voice filled with awe.

"Do you have the keys?"

"Yeah," Paige said with a nod as she pulled them from her pocket, her hands shaking.

"Insert them one by one," Marcus instructed.

Paige bobbed her head as she approached the glowing container. As she inserted the first key, a loud grinding filled the chamber. Paige's gaze rose to the ceiling, worrying about it collapsing. "It's been here for centuries, probably," she whispered to herself as she placed the second key.

Another loud rumbling caused dust to fall onto her head. "Ugh, I'm not loving this. I hope this ceiling holds."

"Just keep placing the keys," Marcus retorted.

Paige's heart thudded harder against her ribs as she slid the third stone wedge into place. The ground under her feet began to rumble. With a wince, she slid the final component into place.

"Ah!" she cried as the rumbling under her feet shook her enough to knock her down .

In front of her, the enchanted safe popped open, a bright light glowing from within. Her breath caught in her throat as she squinted against it.

The ground continued to shake underneath her as she reached toward the open safe, the light searing her eyes. Her fingers touched something icy, but before she could identify it, her world went black.