A Dangerous Legacy Pt. 15

"Just a short time ago I was poor. No one depended on me but Diego. I didn't eat every day, and the sight of a properly stocked bathroom and pantry would have made me weep in gratitude. And now the witches depend on me, the wolves too. And if we can't fix the time line the entire world does as well. I don't know if I can do this."

Also a short time ago I would have jerked away from the warm bodies pressing to me, the strong arms circling me. I took their comfort now, but not for long. If I had a big, strong shoulder to cry on, crying is exactly what I'd do. And once I started, I'd likely go on forever.

I pack but they didn't give me much space. "Please. I promise I won't leave you again, but I need as much time and space as I can have now."

Andre gave me a level stare, and I felt as if he saw through to my soul.

"Julian," he barked. "You stay. Pierre?"

Pierre followed his brother out and I watched them go, left with Julian, the softest soul of the three in many ways.

Julian came behind me and walked us to the window, his arms holding me close. "Anna, I never saw Sigrid face anything like this. I have no advice to give, no words of comfort."

"I never had any," I said without thought.

He kissed my temple. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. Yes. Maybe, I don't know," I said with a sigh. "It sounds crazy but I'm almost glad my parents were so awful. I learned to stand on my own two feet and survive pretty early, traits that seem to help more than others."

"But you don't trust easily," Julian said, turning me to face him, raising my chin so my eyes met his. "Particularly not yourself."

I had no reply to that so I kissed him. Despair and anger had been swimming in my blood but so easily it transformed to desperation, pure need. Of course I didn't trust myself, I knew who I was. I was a scared little girl alone in the world fighting demons. I was a lonely woman unable to connect to others because that little girl lived inside me. And I was the queen of the witchesm who had inherited a damn mess and was doing her absolute best to fix things.

But as his lips slanted across mine, all I became was a simple woman who needed her man. He backed me to the window and the glass was shocking cool in contrast to the heat of his lanky body as it pressed into mine.

I wanted to tear off his clothes but when I moved to it was like he knew and Julian captured my wrists in a shocking show of dominance for the omega.

"Not tonight," he whispered against my lips, and then his tongue met mine.

For achingly long, slow minutes we kissed, his erection pressed pulsing into my belly and his hands held me, but otherwise we did not touch aside from our mouths. My arousal spun from my control, becoming a living thing.

His hand slipped beneath my shirt almost innocently sliding along my skin/ Oh, my Julian was the master of the tease, and I let myself shudder with need, encouraging him, but otherwise I remained passive.

Before he reached my breast he moved us from the window to the bed. Some sense of myself returned and I grew impatient. With only a flicker of thought I had us naked and my sweet wolf growled. "I wanted to do that," he said, but took advantage of the moment and captured my nipple in his teeth.

I arched against him and my hands sought his cock, delighting in the long erection I found.

"Not slow, not today, Julian," I breathed out on a sigh.

"There's no rush," he murmured, nuzzling across my chest to my other breast. "We have all the time in the world."

That brought the issues roaring back and I fought them. I needed this stolen moment but that's all I could take, moment.

He let me push him back and straddle him, and any protest he might have had died when I grasped his cock and brushed it against my wet folds. His green eyes clouded over with desire and he licked his lips, sex personified and supplicant to me.

I purred and sank down, slowly letting his great length pierce me. I felt my flesh flutter as our hips met and my cry rose above his groan. His hands found my hips and suddenly Julian smiled.

"If we must rush, darling, we'll do it my way."

Before I could protest he rolled us, tangled limbs struggling for purchase, and I ended on my back with him sliding impossibly deeper. Another wicked grin and he began to thrust. It was fast and furious, he held my shoulders down and bent over my breasts, scraping against my clit with every pass as he drove me mad.

It became a furious grinding as I met his every pass, a race against one another and yet together. He reached the pinnacle first, but I suspected that was his plan. He came with a groan, and I felt him grow immensely thick. Julian arched his back, a thing of beauty as his pale hair flew, and his hand found my clit.

As his long orgasm rocked him he brought me over and over again relentlessly. I felt my body surrender to his control as my muscles tightened almost painfully with each crest. I rocked, wailed, felt myself creaming with each shattering orgasm.

Finally it ended, his, and with a slow wink Julian took me over the edge again.

After he laid across me and I cradled him, panting. Suddenly the problems of the world seemed insignificant and I wanted to lay in bed like this until they went away.

A knock came at the door and I groaned.

"Maybe if we ignore they will leave us to enjoy another round."

I sighed and stretched against him, delighting that he was still inside me, albeit softer now. "If only that could happen. Yes?" I called to the intruder.

"Anna, Marcus is here," Andre said stiffly.

"Damn," I moaned as Julian rolled aside.

With magic I clothed us again, cleaned us and made us both presentable. Outside Marcus was alone with Andre and we joined them, sitting around the coffee table.

"Your highness, I was told you wished to see me. Malachai," he clarified at my raised eyebrow.

"Indeed. Andre, Julian, will you leave us alone?"

Andre wanted to argue but seemed to think better of it. With a curt nod he rose, so did his brother, and they left.

I wanted to waste no time. "Kenneth. Tell me about him."

He seemed taken aback, dark eyes widening. He was dressed in a prim version of a Roman noble, I realized, which struck me as funny. As far as I knew he was a farmer whose people had occupied the lands that would later become Rome. Valerius was the real Roman, and he dressed like a rich surfer.

With a dignified air he sniffled and summoned up wine, offering me a glass which I accepted.

"Kenneth came to us seeking sanctuary. The sorcerers had not been very friendly, it seemed. The council was in power then, we were between queens, and so we met and discussed. Normally Shin-ZXan would have been the one to gather information from him but it was decided I would, and if he told us what we wanted he would stay."

"And what did he tell you?"

"The strongholds of all dragons. I fear I spent little time with him. Back then I was in charge of mobilizing troops and as soon as I got what I needed I left.

"By the time I returned, after the last great battles he was settled in. We had given him a pack and he kept himself separate. I admit most witches wanted little to do with him but he returned the sentiment. He is never seen at public functions, in fact he only came to Thunder Island when news of your arrival spread.

"He makes no secret of the fact that he seeks to rule. Until you were found he sent letters to us almost every damn week begging our consideration."

That surprised me. "Letters? He seems more like the type to bully."

"No, that's his mother Alessandra is...something else entirely."

"How so?"

"Not one of us can remember her birth, her ascension. She is guarded by a magic that is stronger than the council combined. All we know is that she is of your line, and has always been the chosen guardian."

"Always? But I thought she was Sigrid's sister well and true."

Confusion filled his patrician face. "I...I don't remember."

I closed my eyes and thought on his words as silence descended. Perhaps Alessandra could be bother eternal and the last queen's sister. Time travel, after all, was in us all.

"We need to go back."

"Back?"

"We went to Chengzhou and whoever it is disrupting the timeline tried to kill us. I need to go back with a smaller party and discover who it is."

"That is madness! The attempt only proveds that whoever is behind the disturbances knows you are after them. We cannot risk you, your highness, not until..."

I grimaced, knowing his next words. "Until I have an heir. What am I supposed to do? Go bang some witch and wait nine months while the seams of the world fall apart so you all have a just in case?"

"But without one of your line magic dies!"

I stood. "Alessandra is of my line! Kenneth too!"

He rose as well, not as tall as I was but his presence was larger than his bulky build and he was in a fine temper. "And would you have them rule us?!" He steadied himself and when Marcus spoke again his voice was deep and calm. "Kenneth hates us all. He would destroy everyone, magic itself to have his revenge. And Alessandra cares not for the world. There is no goodness in her, only selfishness. We need you, my queen, we need someone who will not let us all die."

I wanted to scream. I wanted this to all end. In that moment, I almost wanted to return to my old life...almost. But if I did the men I loved would suffer an eternity at Alessandra's hand.

"Then if I am to rule you must abide by my decisions. Call the council together."

He wanted to argue but he bit his lip and bowed in a graceful dip. "As you wish."

I closed my eyes and called to my magic.

Malachai.

Yes Anna?

Bring your dragons to my rooms. It's time to end this.

There was silence for a moment, and then I felt his laughter in my head. At last.

"We must first divine the purpose of this magic upsetting the timeline!" Valerius roared.

"No!" I stood and slammed my hands on the table. Ten wolves, four witches, one sorcerer, and two dragons could make one hell of a racket, I thought as I glared at them all. Only the dragons and wolves fell complacent at my gaze.

"Shut up!" I yelled at the magic-bearers finally did.

"The why doesn't matter, this isn't CSI. This is war. It matters not why the enemy does what they do, it only matters that they have left themselves vulnerable. The moment they sent the bolt that Shin-Zan and I barely escaped they cannot cast another spell. At that moment we will divine who it is, and with all of us combined we can defeat them."

"Unless it is a group," Marcus said. He waited for my nod to continue. "This magic is more powerful than any of us. It is most likely a cabal."

"How many matters not. I am not saying we attack, only we observe. We bringing all numbers here only for defense."

"How can we not attack?" Valerius demanded. "We have the chance to stop them now."

"Marcus is right on one count," Malachai said. "It is likely a cabal, however they would be foolish to send every member back for this. It could be a trap, and as such we should just observe. Perhaps the intended assassin will lead us back to the cabal."

"No, no following," I said.

Malachai shrugged and I realized how useless it was for one ruler to try and bully the other who stood on equal footing.

"We have one chance. We must not be squabbling as we go," Shin-Zan cautioned.

"Is it agreed that the queen must be protected?" Andre asked.

"And the king," Francine countered.

"Touché," Andre allowed with a nod.

"So how do we do this?" Valerius asked me with a frown.

"We go back and arrive five minutes early across the field. Shin-Zan will take us back. Valerius, Marcus, you two will cast a barrier spell for defense. Malachai and I will work together to find the attacker. Jerry, Liv, I want you to be prepared to gather any of us that become injured. Everyone else, be on alert."

"I will need more time to rest," Shin-Zan said with a soft smile. "Taking back such a large group will be taxing."

"Ladies, go with him," Malachai ordered his dragons. "Shin-Zan, they can travel time even better than we can. They will aid you."

"All right. Will three hours be enough?" I asked. At a round of nods I spread my hands and everyone rose and began to filter out from my room.

When I was left with my wolves I sighed. "You all need to eat and I need to rest." I conjured up a feast for them, heavy on meat, and smiled. "Not as good as your cooking, Julian, but I do my best. I am going to nap. Will someone wake me when it's time?"

"Yes," Pierre volunteered, even as they all sat down.

I had conjured up a large ham, a turkey, three chickens, and several racks of ribs. I'd added mashed potatoes, corn bread stuffing, and a corn soufflé, along with broccoli, carrots, peas, and onions in butter.

They had neatly forgotten me under gluttonous pleasure, and I closed the bedroom door. The scent of my recent lovemaking still hung in the air and I fought a sudden rush of desire. Magic cleared the scent and straightened the bed, and then I summoned my own food, a turkey club sandwich and fries. Adding a diet cola I sat in a chair and concentrated.

Summoning with magic was harder when you didn't know exactly what you sought. After fifteen minutes I had alarmed a few wolf librarians, rifled the council stacks, but I had a book accounting Chenzhou.

After two hours I was horrified. Vampires were not quite the creatures legend had made them out to be. They were born that way, as long as both parents were vampire, and until puberty were fully human.

And wolves had slaughtered even those children. A force of three thousand wolves had come upon the last hold of vampires numbering barely one thousand. They crept in at the break of dawn and had begun cutting off heads, staking bodies, and burning everything in sight. Twelve hours later the vampires were gone.

A wolf named Gregori had recorded an account, and his guilt bled through the pages.

There was a family, two parents and two children. The children tried to protect their parents as I entered. The parents fought to remain awake, cowering in shadow as the children grabbed weapons.

The boy was likely twelve, on the cusp of transformation, tall and thin, as blonde as his mother. The girl was only nine, the same age as my oldest. Such ferocity and desperation lay on her face such as I had never seen, and I hesitated.

Her small knife pierced my thigh and I struck out. Before I knew what was happening my sword pierced her neck. The roar of anguish from her family was deafening. I was young then, and it was my first kill. I felt my heart shredding, but as my mind receded training took over. I withdrew my sword and knocked the boy from me with a kick. Cutting at the beams a wall crashed and sunlight raced in.

Someone outside saw and lit the fire. I could have left them to burn, but it seemed cruel. I killed the boy with a stab to his heart, and as his parents weakly fought me I cut their heads from their bodies.

Outside I fell to the ground and vomited. The rest of the day was a blur of the same, guilt and violence and hatred and vomit. Fire...dire cleaned it all.

-Accounted 1342, Brother Gregori Haspitch, Romania

After I read that I nearly vomited myself. After some meditation I finally took in the final entry, written by Shin-Zan. More brief, it detailed the first time the witches and sorcerers had worked together. I found it surprisingly brief, merely notations of an accord where all worked together to capture the magic released at the death of an entire race of magical creatures. After they factions split, the witches grew more powerful, and the wolves belonged completely to them.

It sounded that the world could not exist with Chengzhou, not as it was. But without the death of the vampires, magic would be known to one and all. How would the world be different? Was it supposed to be different? Was this cabal carving a different history?

That would explain why the queens died. If I could sense the wrongness, perhaps they did as well. Perhaps I was just the first to share information with others.

Still, what bothered me the most was that familiar tang of magic. Who was it? We would soon find out, but something haunted me. If whoever had tried to kill me had magic like mine, they were related. This meant if it wasn't Kenneth, and it wasn't Alessandra, it left one possibility: the child I was supposed to conceive with Malachai.

"Anna?" Pierre knocked at the door. "It's time."

"Coming." I magicked the book back, cleared my lunch, and dressed myself in what felt more appropriate for danger. Sturdy steel-toed boots, thick jeans, and a leather jacket over a simple t-shirt. Time for the ultimate game of Truth or Dare.

We met in my rooms, and frankly I was getting cabin fever spending so much time in them. Everyone had gone for some form of light armor, the best modern choice was leather. The wolves wore less, movement being more prized, and Shin-Zan like an extra from a Hollywood historical kung-fu epic, but the rest of us looked like the strangest metal groupies in the world.

"Everyone clear?"

Malachai grinned. "That's one hell of a pep talk."

"Less talk, more action," I grumbled.

Andre grinned, his beast showing in his eyes. "Now that's a good one."

Shin-Zan and the dragons joined hands, and the magic rose. Soon enough we were hurtling through the tunnel but I noticed the dragons made it smoother. I never once questioned if it was my ass or my head that was upright.

Still it was a shock when we arrived, and they had put us down in some trees. Somebody grabbed me, and Pierre shoved me behind a tree.

"Thanks," I grumbled, and took stock.

My wolves, Marcus', and Valerius' were spread out with the dragons forming a perimeter. As directed Jerry and Lic stood a few paces back. Shin-Zan rested by a tree, recovering, and Valerius and Marcus were fully charged.

Malachai strode to my side. "Ready?"

"How do we do this?"

"Take my hands, and close your eyes."

I did, filled with nerves. I felt his magic as if it knocked at a door I didn't know mine hand. Concentrating I opened it, and felt our magic blend. Holy shit! was my only thought. The push and pull of dark and light filled not just what I knew was my magic, but my body. It was like a more ancient joining of two opposites, and it left me gasping and aroused.

I should have felt horrible embarrassment, but there was no time. He was working a spell and I forced my will into it. Then it left us, seeking.

Our prey was preparing great magic to aid the wolves, and a deadly spell for us. That much magic called to our blended power like a siren, and it screamed out.

We found the caster. One soul, close by.

"Live, Julian, stay here and guard Shin-Zan. Everyone else, come with us!" I cried.

I felt the magic around me, the two council members were preparing an attack. I pulled some of my magic back from Malachai who ran holding my hand, and he turned and nodded, doing the same. We couldn't kill the culprit if there were more.

Cresting the small hill we found the village in front of us, the attack already begun. The magic lead us to follow the ride along the back and we slowed, seeing nothing.

"Another spell, invisibility," Malachai whispered.

"Marcus, Valerius, undo the invisibility spell. Quickly, they must not know we are here yet."

Waiting as they worked was the most difficult long minutes of my life. We hid behind the crest and my nerves and muscles screamed for action.

"We find their identity and retreat. Malachai, we need to change our magic and get us back to Shin-Zan."

"I agree. Something feels very wrong. Do you sense it?"

I closed my eyes and called to that part of me that could sense the timeline. I felt it then, a jangling sense of unease. We had to go, and we had to go immediately.