Dragon Touched

Chapter One

Chapter One

Meikah crouched beside Rafe, trying to find Kellan in the shadows. She spotted him crossing the area between the hedge they crouched behind and the tree they were headed towards. “I can’t do that.” Maybe if they wore their dark clothes and mask that made it easy to hide in the shadows, she would have a better chance reaching the tree undetected.

“Want me to carry you?” Rafe asked. “I can move just as quickly with you in my arms.”

“How did I let Kellan talk me into this? We should have started with something simpler.” She tried not to think about the chemise Kellan carried, folded up and tucked into a dark, cloth bag. “The Duke will throw us in prison.”

“Kellan seems to think he won’t.” Rafe peered past her. “He’s reached the tree. Do you want me to carry you?”

She leaned forward. It didn’t help. “Are you sure he’s there?”

“My senses are better than a human’s.”

She still didn’t know much about vampires. But Rafe didn’t seem like the typical ones most of the stories spoke about. She’d only ever seen him feed on one unwilling victim and she didn’t know if she could call him a victim since he’d been attacking them at the time.

“Are you going? Kellan is signalling you.”

She took a deep breath. Remaining crouched in the shadows wasn’t going to stop the rumours about her being a necromancer. They might be true, to an extent, but she wasn’t the kind of necromancer they thought she was. “Can you see the guards?”

“If you take the same path Kellan took, you’ll avoid being seen by them.”

She looked between the tree and Rafe. Should she tell him she had no idea what path Kellan had taken? She looked down at her dark trousers and shirt, which didn’t seem to blend into the shadows as well as the Assassins Of The Dead gear. A pity she didn’t have her night blades and the mask they wore when doing missions. “This isn’t going to end well.”

“You agreed.”

“It was probably from the relief of capturing Magan and surviving her creatures.” If they’d been able to go last night, like they’d planned, maybe she wouldn’t have spent all day thinking about the things that could go wrong.

“Kellan is signalling you again.”

“All right. I’m going.” She tried to see where the guards were. It was impossible. There were too many shadows in the castle gardens. Her stomach lurched at the reminder of where she was. Kellan was crazy. Which didn’t say much about her own sanity since she’d agreed with the plan.

She inched forward, reluctantly leaving the shelter of the hedge. Keeping low she glanced around as she crept towards the tree. It felt like a hundred eyes watched her, waiting to pounce. If she was lucky, it was only two pairs. A crunch sounded beneath her foot and she realised she’d left the paved path and stepped onto the edge of a garden bed. She froze, holding her breath as she listened. The place was a maze. Who needed a garden with meandering paths, randomly placed flowerbeds and a handful of lanterns and lampposts with bewitched flames? They should have put in straight paths, more hedges and lots of trees. Or anything that would have created plenty of shadows.

Nothing seemed to move and she heard no sounds. Easing back from the garden bed, she crept along the path. Her breath sounded loud in the night, her heart faster than it should be. The tree slowly came closer. Far too slowly. She kicked a pebble that was on the path, wincing as it skittered away from her.

“Is someone there?”

She froze at the guard’s demand. Did he really expect her to answer him? Again she held her breath, barely wanting to blink in case someone noticed the movement. She spotted him, cautiously walking towards her, holding up a lantern with a bewitched flame. Livia’s ability to put out the light from a distance would have come in handy.

The light came closer, sweeping over the area off to her right. Not having any choice, she moved slightly, freezing again when the guard swung the light in her direction. He came directly towards her and she feared he’d spotted her.

The light went out and the guard cursed. A rush of air came towards Meikah and she was scooped up, pressed against the hard planes of Rafe’s chest, the breeze against her face as she was carried to the tree.

Rafe placed her on the ground in the shadows behind the tree. “I told you to follow the path Kellan took.”

Rafe remained close so she was able to clearly hear his whispered words. “I couldn’t see the path he took.” She turned to Kellan. “Did you put the lantern out?”

“Yes.”

“I really have to learn how to do that.”

“It’s part of learning how to make your own bewitched flames.” Kellan stepped away from her. “Come on. Not far to go now.”

“Maybe we should do something else.” She moved closer to the tree when the guard relit his lantern.

Kellan chuckled softly. “Too late now. We’d be caught for sure trying to get out of here.” He took hold of her hand. “This rumour will have the gossips talking for weeks.” He lightly squeezed her hand, continuing to hold it.

“It’s not the gossips I’m worried about,” she muttered.

Kellan let go of her hand. “This way. Before the other guard returns on his rounds.”

She watched Kellan slip away, disappearing into the shadows within seconds. How was she meant to follow him when it was impossible to see where he was going?

“Do you want me to carry you again?” Rafe asked.

She nearly said no. What kind of an assassin couldn’t blend with the shadows? But she supposed she’d only decided yesterday that she’d join them. She tried not to remind herself Rafe had joined the day before her. “How do you hide in the shadows? I need to figure out how it’s done.”

“You’ll have to ask a human. My ability to blend with the dark is a vampire power.” Rafe placed a hand at her back. “Do you need help?”

She stared up at him, a darker shadow against the night. Could he see her clearly? “Yes.” She’d barely spoken the word before she was in his arms and pressed against his chest.

He lowered his head. “Tonight is more interesting than I expected it to be.”

Before she could say anything, they were across the garden in a rush of air, her feet on the ground, Rafe’s arms around her as she tried to gain her balance. She stepped away. “Thank you.”

“It was my pleasure,” Rafe said.

Kellan joined them, his head start not having helped him arrive at the location first. “The flag pole is over there.” He turned Meikah in the right direction. “See it?”

“The area is full of lights. We’ll be caught before we reach it.” She eyed the pole, the Duke’s flag flying from the top, proclaiming to everyone that he was in residence. The background of the flag consisted of two panels of equal size, the left white and the right red. The silhouette of a winged hound, a forepaw raised, was in the middle of the flag, taking up half the space.

“As soon as the guard begins his rounds we have about seven minutes until the next one reaches a location where he’ll be able to see us. More than enough time to take down the flag and hoist the chemise in its place.” Kellan chuckled. “This has to be one of my best ideas yet.”

That wasn’t exactly what she would have called it. “More like your biggest insanity ever.”

“The guard is moving,” Rafe said.

“Give him time to get out of view.” Kellan stepped in front of Meikah. “Run for the pole the moment I start.” He looked towards Rafe. “But don’t get ahead of me. We wouldn’t want to be caught before we’re ready to be.”

There it was. The part she dreaded. Being caught by the Duke on his nightly walk through the gardens. The time was random each night and they’d watched and waited, hoping the start of his walk fell in with the regular rounds of the guards. They’d got lucky. Or at least that’s what Kellan had tried to tell her. She wasn’t so sure.

“Now.” Kellan ran towards the flagpole, Rafe directly behind him.

Meikah followed, her reactions nowhere near as fast as a vampire’s. Kellan was pulling down the flag by the time she reached the pole.

“Get the chemise out of the bag.” Kellan nodded to the bag he’d placed on the ground beside the pole.

Meikah picked it up, pulling the garment out of the bag, freezing when she heard a voice behind her.

“The rumours of swimming in the fountain, the night before, weren’t enough for the week?”