Kiss of the Dragon Read online

  Kiss Of The Dragon

  Book Eight in the Kindred Series

  By Nicola Claire

  Copyright © 2013, Nicola Claire

  All Rights Reserved

  ISBN: 978-0-473-25227-4

  nicolaclairebooks.blogspot.com

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organisations is entirely coincidental.

  All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.

  Cover Art by Nicola Claire & Minette Hanekom

  Image credit: 123RF Stock Photo

  Image # 9276881

  Font credit: Last Soundtrack "EpoXY histoRy"

  My special thanks to Minette of Red Cherry Graphic Design for her expertise, unfailing support and precious time, making the Kindred Series look as sexy as it deserves.

  More books by Nicola Claire:

  Kindred Series

  Kindred

  Blood Life Seeker

  Forbidden Drink

  Giver of Light

  Dancing Dragon

  Shadow's Light

  Entwined With The Dark

  Kiss Of The Dragon

  Mixed Blessing Mystery Series

  Mixed Blessing

  Sweet Seduction Series

  Sweet Seduction Sacrifice

  Sweet Seduction Serenade

  Sweet Seduction Shadow

  Sweet Seduction Surrender (Late 2013)

  Elemental Awakening Series

  The Tempting Touch Of Fire (Late 2013)

  For:

  The Fans; who have taken to Lucinda & Michel's story with such devotion.

  And in particular to Minette Hanekom, who gave her time and expertise

  to make the Kindred Series look even better.

  Definitions

  Accord – A blood binding agreement, often between two parties of equal power; cannot be broken.

  Álfheimr – (Fey) Faerie. Home to the Fey.

  Alliance – A word of honour agreement; has varying degrees of binding, some alliances cannot be broken.

  Bjóða – (Fey) A challenge.

  Bjórr – (Fey) Fey beer.

  Blood Bond – A binding connection between master and servant, requiring the exchange of blood to seal. It can only be broken by someone more powerful than the master who created it. A blood bond establishes a close relationship between the blood bonded. The master provides safety and protection, the servant offers obedience and loyalty.

  Bond – The connection between joined kindred Nosferatu and Nosferatin; reflects the emotional and psychological relationship. Enables both parties to find each other over distance; to perform whatever is required to get to that person, overcoming any obstacle; to direct thoughts to each other; to feed off the life force of each other. It is always an equal exchange.

  Ceannard - (Gaelic) Leader of the Dragon shape shifters.

  Command – A directive given by a Master vampire to one of his line. It requires Sanguis Vitam in order to enforce obedience. It cannot be ignored.

  Dökkálfa – (Fey) The Dark Fey.

  Dream Walk – A Nosferatin power, enabling the Nosferatin to appear in a different location. The Dream Walker is invisible, cannot be sensed or smelled, and only heard if they talk when in this realm. They can, however, interact and be harmed. The only exception to a Dream Walker's invisibility is another Nosferatin. Two Dream Walks in a 24 hour period results in prolonged unconsciousness once the Dream Walker returns to their body. A very rare power.

  Dùthaich - (Gaelic) Territory. Region of land belonging to a particular family of Nathair-Sgiathach, or dragon shape shifters.

  Elska – (Fey) Literally love. An elska is a mœðr. A member of the fey can only ever have one elska in their lives. They are in tune with the Light or ljós within their matched fairy and potentially will become their one true love.

  Fīfrildi – (Fey) A type of winged fairy. Yellow Dökkálfa Fey.

  Final death – The true death of a Nosferatu. There can be no survival from the final death.

  Glaze – The ability to influence another. It requires direct eye contact and Sanguis Vitam to insert the influence. Usually a Nosferatu skill, allowing a vampire to influence a human.

  Grey Lords – The Dökkálfa law keepers.

  Herald – The Nosferatin who recognises the Prophesy. It is the Herald's responsibility to acknowledge the Sanguis Vitam Cupitor and thereby initiate the Prophesy.

  Hapū – (Maori) Tribe; sub-tribe – e.g. the Westside Hapū of Taniwha is the local Auckland sub-tribe of New Zealand Taniwha.

  Hyrða – (Fey) Fairy guards. Green Dökkálfa Fey.

  Iunctio – (Latin). The Nosferatu connection and governing power. All vampires are connected to one another via this supernatural information exchange highway; enabling sharing of rules, locations of safe havens and hot spots to avoid. It is powered by both Nosferatu and Nosferatin Sanguis Vitam, but is operated by the Nosferatu in Paris. There are twelve members of the Iunctio council, headed by the Champion. The Iunctio is tasked with policing all supernaturals throughout the world.

  Joining – The marriage of a kindred Nosferatu with a kindred Nosferatin. Upon joining the Nosferatu will double their Sanguis Vitam and the Nosferatin will come into their powers, but for the Nosferatin, their powers will only manifest after reaching maturity; the age of 25. The joining will also make the Nosferatin immortal. A symbiotic relationship, should one member of the joining die, the other will too. Without a joining, the Nosferatin would die one month passed their 25th birthday. The joining also increases the power of the Iunctio and Nosferatu as a whole.

  Kaitiaki – (Maori) New Zealand Shape Shifter (Taniwha) name for Nosferatin. Meaning protective guardian of people and places.

  Kindred – A Nosferatu or Nosferatin sacred match, a suitable partner for a joining. To be a kindred there must exist a connection between the Nosferatu and Nosferatin; only those suitably compatible will be kindred to the other.

  Kvángask – (Fey) A marriage ceremony between elska. Involves a public sharing of silver, sustenance and bodies.

  Line – The family of a master vampire, all members of which have been turned by the master, or accepted via blood bond into the fold.

  Ljós – (Fey) Light.

  Ljósálfar – (Fey) The Light Fey.

  Lux Lucis Tribuo – (Latin) The Giver of Light. The third part of the Prophesy. The Lux Lucis Tribuo is charged with balancing the Dark in Dark vampires out with their Light.

  Master – A Nosferatu with the highest level of Sanguis Vitam. There are five levels of Master, from level five – the lowest on the Sanguis Vitam scale, to level one – the highest on the Sanguis Vitam scale. Only level one Masters can head a line of their own. Some Nosferatu may never become Masters.

  Master of the City – A level one Master in control of a territory; a city.

  Mœðr – (Fey) Mother or mate. A human capable of parenting fey offspring.

  Nathair-Sgiathach - (Gaelic) Winged Serpent, the Dragon shape shifters native to the British Isles.

  Norm – A human unaware of the supernaturals who walk the Earth. They also do not have any supernatural abilities themselves.

  Nosferatin – (Nosferat–een) - A vampire hunter by birth. Nosferatin were once of the same ilk as Nosferatu, descendants from the same ancestors, or God. The Nosferatin broke off and turned towards the Light. Their sole purpose is to bring the Nosferatu back from the Dark, this can include dispatching them, bringing them the final death, when they cannot be saved. They
are now a mix of human and Nosferatin genetics.

  Nosferatu – A vampire. The Nosferatu turned towards the Dark, when their kin, the Nosferatin turned towards the Light. They require blood to survive and can be harmed by UV exposure and silver. They do not need to breathe or have a heart beat. They are considered the undead.

  Prohibitum Bibere – (Latin) The Forbidden Drink. The second part of the Prophesy. The Prohibitum Bibere is a siren to the Dark vampires throughout the world, calling their Darkness towards the Light.

  Pull – The Nosferatin sense of evil. Guides a hunter to a Dark vampire; sometimes, but not always a rogue, who is about to feed off an innocent.

  Rākaunui – (Maori) Full Moon.

  Rogue – A vampire no longer controlled by a master, full of evil and Darkness, feeding indiscriminately and uncontrolled.

  Sanguis Vitam – (Latin) The Blood Life or life force of a Nosferatu. It represents the power they possess. There are varying degrees of Sanguis Vitam.

  Sanguis Vitam Cupitor – (Latin) The Blood Life Seeker. The first part of the Prophesy. The Sanguis Vitam Cupitor can sense and find all Dark vampires throughout the world.

  Síðastr Portal – (Fey) A one-way portal that perpetually remains open despite the closure of other portals to Álfheimr. It allows access from Earth to Álfheimr.

  Sigillum – (Latin) A permanent mark of possession.

  Starkad – (Fey) The Ljósálfar law keepers.

  Taniwha – (Maori) New Zealand Shape Shifter. Dangerous, predatory beings. The Taniwha have an alliance with the Nosferatins.

  Taufr – (Fey) Talisman. A charmed amulet or object.

  Teaghlach - (Gaelic) Shape shifter pack or family.

  Tego Texi Tectum – (Latin) To cover, protect and shield. Referring to a vampire power of guarding and sheltering themselves and others from certain magical powers.

  Turned – The action of changing a human into a vampire.

  Umskipti – (Fey) Changeling. A member of the fey used to replace human children who were identified as mœðr. The changeling takes on the form of the stolen child and fools the human parents until adulthood, when they simply disappear. Fey stole human children to improve fertility in Álfheimr. The stolen human child is raised in Faerie as one of their own to breed fey.

  Vampyre – Old term for vampire; used rarely in modern language.

  Vinr – (Fey) Vanguard. The first of the fey to cross a portal. Their job is to ensure it is safe for other fey to follow.

  His Light to her Light

  Mixed together through sacred rite

  Will create longed-for life.

  Fey Prophesy

  Chapter 1

  Inevitable

  "We bow before you, Champion. Master, we are your servants evermore."

  Stunned silence followed their words. The Iunctio Council having just pledged their undying allegiance to my kindred, rattling the walls and weighing down my heart. I was shocked, immobile. Scared shitless. The Dökkálfa were all standing stock still as well, controlled by their new King: Aliath. Their eyes as large as mine. But unlike me they were still ready for battle, their swords and daggers at their sides, hands firmly grasping the hilts, ready to charge at a moment's notice. The vampires present in the Iunctio Council Chambers, in contrast, were preternaturally still, taking in the change in leadership or retreating from the fall-out that would ensue.

  I continued to breathe in and out, trying to wrap my head around this new change in our circumstances. The Champion, the former one, was dead; dust on the marble floor. She had been a thorn in my side for so long, I felt a little hollow knowing she never would be again. But that wasn't the crux of my problems. Michel was now the leader of the Iunctio. Their Champion. The Champion. He was in charge of the organisation I despised the most.

  Oh dear Goddess, what would this do to him? To us?

  He stood smoothly, in that puppet-on-a-string motion the vampires have, and turned slowly to take in all those around the room. Did he look different? Did the weight of what was now firmly placed on his shoulders change the man I knew? I hadn't realised I'd stopped breathing, but was just staring at him in open consternation. Unable to comprehend what had just happened, what it could possibly mean for us. How life kept throwing curve ball after curve ball at my head.

  His eyes found mine, he held my gaze for a second, maybe two, and then he was beside me, wrapping me up in his strong arms, laying feather-light kisses across my cheek. Burying his face in my hair. Relief coursed through me in a tsunami-sized wave. Michel would always love me, always want me, no matter what. I had no idea what this new position would hold, but I was sure he would continue to fight for us. I relaxed in the warmth of his arms and returned the kisses with equal passion.

  Then reality came crashing back in and broke my heart.

  The portals to Álfheimr were still closing, had been since the Iunctio started to receive Michel's and my joining power. But now, we could actually feel them slamming shut, one after the other; the sensation of Faerie being successively cut off thrummed through the air of the Palais. I'm not sure how we could tell, maybe it was because it was our power that was fuelling the closure, but Michel pulled back and rushed to cup my face with both hands, fear and dread evident in his gaze.

  "I thought with Sofiq dead..." he said, but didn't go on. I had thought it too. With the Queen of the Dökkálfa no more, then the charm she had placed on me would be no more too. The charm that was being activated right now due to the portals to Álfheimr closing.

  But, we had obviously thought wrong.

  As the portals continued to shut, one after the other the fairies in the room stepped through shimmering rips in the air and disappeared. Pop after pop after pop. Michel's hold became frantic, as though tightening his grip on my face would make it impossible for the charm to steal me away. He started shaking his head, whispering, "No, no, no, no," again and again. I blinked away tears, sniffed unattractively... and felt myself being torn from his arms.

  The last thing I saw on his face was desperation and then I found myself standing in the centre of the throne room in the Dökkálfa Palace. Angry fairies dressed in black in a multitude of coloured skins surrounding me, musical chimes escalating in volume on the air.

  I shuddered at the look of hunger and outrage that graced each of their otherworldly beautiful faces and then as they began to come closer I grasped for my Light. One shot and they'd all back up. I pulled it close, getting ready to release it, thinking of nothing but blasting straight through their alien and unnatural selves.

  Then Aliath walked through a ripple in space and stood before me. His hair a pure silver shining in the lights of the room, his eyes a vivid green so blinding I had to blink to clear my vision. The fairies all dropped to their knees in supplication as he reached out and threw a veil of something sticky over my head. I realised too late that it was one of those ethereal blankets the Dökkálfa had used on Sergei and Nataliya back at the Palais. Golden, filigree type pattern, a web of something that contained my Light. Within seconds it had seeped through my shields and I was cut off from what made me the Prophesied.

  I slunk down onto my knees, a hollowness that went beyond the loss of my Light replacing all hope inside. Not only was I cut off from Michel, but I was also cut off from my Light.

  "Why?" I asked in a voice that sounded so very far away.

  "You are a guest in my Court," Aliath replied in a voice full of authority I hadn't heard from him before. "Your presence here is subject to my hospitality. I deem it necessary to isolate you from your Light."

  "I wouldn't use it against you," I said and was surprised I meant it. Aliath and I had a strange alliance, one that maybe was defunct now Sofiq was dead. But I'd honour it, I wouldn't stop honouring it, until I had no choice left.

  "That is promising, Princess. But for now this is how it must be."

  He turned away, showing me his back without fear I would attack. I was still holding my Svante sword firmly in my grasp, so his cocky
confidence was telling. He said a few words in Fey and several Hyrða guards rushed forward. Within seconds I'd relinquished my weapons: sword, two silver stakes and a knife. Then they hauled me from the throne room and dragged me down hall after hall. Finally throwing me unceremoniously into a room, making me land hard on the cold stone floor. The door slammed shut behind me and a lock clicked loudly closed.

  I rubbed my wrists where they had been strained taking my weight as I fell to the floor and glanced around the room.

  "Well, this is familiar," I muttered under my breath, casting an angry glance at the shadows in the corners of the room. The same room Michel and I had occupied the last time we had been held prisoner by the Dökkálfa. "Home sweet fairy home."

  I took a deep breath in, trying to decipher any lingering scents. There were none that I recognised. It had been months since Michel and I had been held captive in these rooms and his scent was no longer here. My head hung down at that thought, a pain so deep and achingly poignant reached to my very soul. What we had feared most had happened. I was in Álfheimr, cut off from Earth's realm, and he was unable to reach me.

  I had a sudden hopeful thought. When Michel had been pulled into Álfheimr last time, he'd still been able to send thoughts and visit me in my dreams, albeit briefly due to his diminished strength. I tried now, knowing our connection was that much stronger this time. We were joined kindred again, we had a Bond, there could be no more powerful a connection than that.

  Nothing. Just an empty hollowness that went on for eternity. I shouted in my head, I sent emotions, images, anything I could. I reached out down the Bond connection, I could feel it still existing, still there, waiting patiently for us to use it. But when I did, it simply tapered off into the ether and disappeared. A small, slow teardrop slipped down my cheek. I brushed it away angrily.