Fated
Chapter 22
Dragon Queen
It's so dark I can hardly see anything. I hear the sound of ocean waves splashing against rocks just outside. A cold breeze blowing across my body is making me shiver. As my eyes begin to adjust to the darkness, I see rocks on the floor and walls. I think I'm in a cave, but where is Craig and why did he leave me here all alone? I feel a cold breeze brush past me and see a moving blur. Craig is now squatting down in the back corner of the cave holding small sticks and dried leaves in his arms. He drops the sticks on the floor in a pile and then places the leaves in another pile. He grabs two sticks and quickly rubs them together. When they begin to smoke he lights the leaves on fire and places his kindling over it in a teepee shape.
I close my eyes and try to connect to Edward for a few minutes. It's not happening as easily as it did last time. I feel no connection and see no cloud forming in front of me. I try to push my thoughts out into the world and scream for Edward inside my head. There is nothing still. I take my cell phone out of my jeans pocket and dial his number. No answer. I try Alice's number. Also no answer. I take a deep breath steadying my anxiety and decide to concentrate upon Craig for now. Maybe he can help me figure out where Edward and Alice are and why I can't contact them.
Craig stands up and looks at me, around his neck lies the amulet. "Bella come over by the fire. It's cold in this cave." My mind is racing in so many different directions and I have so many questions for Craig, I don't know what to ask first. I walk over to him, the fire warming my body.
"Craig, what's going on? Thank you for rescuing me, but what were you doing there? Were you following me? I take a deep breath and try to calm myself so I can think clearly. "You're obviously a vampire because of your fast running..."
"No. I'm an Original," Craig says.
"Do you know where Edward and Alice are?"
"Edward and Alice are somewhere safe. I saw Drajor put them in a trance, as he did to all your friends," says Craig.
"But I took the amulet away from Drajor. All of their special abilities should have been removed," I say.
"The way the amulet works is by energizing psychic's blood and then when a creature drinks that amulet-charged, psychic-blood, they will gain all that person's abilities. All abilities gained and used from the amulet cannot be revoked until someone else takes claim of the amulet, by wearing it, and orders the amulet to remove all abilities and effects from those abilities. Only certain people can lay claim upon the amulet. You must be of a strong, psychic bloodline," Craig explains.
"So, we have to find the right person to wield the amulet to save Edward and Alice?"
"My bloodline is an ancient one in which some of the strongest psychics have been born. I have taken claim of the amulet and now control it."
"That's great!" I exclaim. "Can you release them now, please?"
"Not just yet, Bella. There are some things we need to talk about and I prefer that we talk without interruption," Craig says. His voice takes on a serious tone. He turns his back to me and takes a few steps away while he talks.
"I have been trying to befriend you, Bella, but you just wouldn't accept me. I was hoping to take some time to get to know you..." Craig begins pacing back and forth in a small area as he talks. "I've been watching you for years. You and Charlie make such a happy little family just the two of you. He is a good father to you. Taking care of you, protecting you, being a friend to you. You don't know how lucky you are. Some of us have to grow up without a father and mother. All alone."
"What do you mean you have been watching me? Who are you, Craig? What do you want?" I'm starting to get a bad feeling in my gut and goosebumps are rising on my arms.
"While you spent your childhood having fun in school and playing soccer in the yard with Charlie after school, I spent my childhood living in the forest, hiding from the people who killed my mother and trying to figure out what I was. I had no one and no home. We lived in Romania in a small town where my mother gave birth to me in her cottage in the woods. When I was 10 years old, the people in the village discovered she was a dragon and killed her late one night while we were sleeping. She never harmed anyone. She was a midwife to the village women and a good person. They killed her out of fear. I escaped into the surrounding woods and made my way to America."
"What does your story have to do with me, Craig? I don't understand."
"I'm getting to that. Before my mother died, she told me about my father and told me I could never go to him because he wouldn't understand what she was and what I am. She never told him she was a dragon. She never even told him that she was pregnant. She left him in the middle of the night and never returned. When my mother died, I wanted to go to my father so many times, but I couldn't. My mother said he would never understand or accept me. So instead I spent years alone confused by what I was until I met others like me who explained things to me and helped me learn about what I was. I spent much time watching you and Charlie too. Then I met this dragon. He sensed my strong abilities and told me he has been looking for a female mate with equally strong abilities but they were hard to find. He said he had to wait until such a female performs a great power and he will be able to sense that power and track her. I told him about the power I sensed in you and he was very interested. He promised me if I brought you to him once your abilities grew into great powers, he would marry you and together both of us could rule the world by his side. The plan was for me to watch you grow in power and report back to him when you achieved high-level abilities but Drajor ruined that plan when he forced me to kill him and expose myself to you."
"Craig, you are out of your mind! I'm not going anywhere with you and I'm not going to any dragon. I am in love with Edward! You need to tell this dragon to forget it. I'm not going anywhere! Please, just tell him you made a mistake and I don't have the abilities you thought I did."
"This dragon is set on you, Bella, and besides he already knows you will have great powers."
"How can he know what my powers are going to be? Edward said we have to wait and see what develops."
"Because he has already seen those great powers develop in your family lineage, through me. I'm your brother, Bella."
I'm stunned. I am just standing here staring at Craig with my mouth open. I'm frozen in place, unable to speak.
"Before Charlie met your mother, he fell in love with my mother. They were both very young. My mother found out Charlie was part of a secret underground devoted to killing dragons that kidnap people from psychic families such as ours. Because of his prejudice against dragons, my mother was afraid to tell him about herself and when she found out she was pregnant, she left in the middle of the night fearing if he found out what she was, he may kill her and her baby. Bella, I've watched you and Charlie live so happily together as a family while I was alone in the world, wishing I was you. You've gotten everything and I had nothing! Now, I have a chance to have everything made up to me. To finally get a power great enough that I can rule the world, along with you and the dragon, of course. First thing we will do is go back to Romania and torch the entire village including all the people and vampires that live there. Then, we will conquer the world!"
"No, Craig. I'm not doing any such thing. I'm not going anywhere. This is insane. I have no way to know if you're lying or telling the truth."
"But you do, Bella. You have the ability to see events from my past. All you have to do is touch my face." Craig walks up to me and grabs my hand. I hesitate for a second and then allow him to place my hand upon his face. I close my eyes and allow the cloud to form in my mind. As the cloud begins to clear I see a beautiful brunette with sparkling blue eyes. What an unusual combination. She is walking across a room. I can see a baby in her belly. The vision shows me this similar to what an ultrasound would show. She walks up to a man and leans in close to him and kisses him. As the vision moves in closer, I see the man that she is kissing is Charlie. I shake my head and clear the vision from my sight. I look up at Craig and for the first time, I notice he has Charlie's nose and eyebrows. I know he's telling me the truth.
"Did you see, Bella?" I nod my head. "You're my brother! Charlie doesn't even know he has another child."
"No, he doesn't. I was too afraid to go to him. My mother said he would hunt me down and kill me. He and his dragon hunter friends are quite formidable."
"Charlie would never do that, Craig. I don't know about him being a dragon hunter. He may have a secret life that he never told me about, but he would never kill his own child."
"It doesn't matter now, Bella. What's important is that we get you to Medoff the dragon. He's the strongest creature alive and has more riches than you can imagine. Once he makes you his queen, we will both rule by his side. The world will be ours!"
"No, Craig. I'm not going with you. I want nothing to do with Medoff. I'm in love with Edward and happy with my life here."
"Bella, I'm not asking. You owe me this much and this you will do! I told him you would accept your fate as his queen so you had better accept this and be happy when we get there!" Craig grabs my right arm in his hand and squeezes it. I wrestle to try to free myself.
"Let me go!" I swing my left arm around and punch him in the face. He reaches into my jeans pocket and takes my cell and throws it against the cave wall. It falls to the floor in pieces.
"Shut up and look," Craig orders as he takes his cell phone out of his pants pocket and holds it up to my face. On the cell phone is a video of Patty lying on a bed fast asleep. I stop fighting immediately. Tears begin to well up in my eyes as I look into Craig's eyes, which suddenly take on a cold, uncaring hue.
"She is not harmed. She is just in a deep sleep. Do as I say or she dies," he says.
"You're evil," I say, quietly defeated.
"Call me what you want but I will not allow you to screw up my plans for ruling the world with this dragon. If you do what I say Patty will be returned home to her bed and will be unaware of anything happening to her. Refuse me and she dies and then I go after everyone you love, including Charlie. He may be a great dragon hunter but he is no match for this dragon."
A/N: I split this scene up into 2 chapters because it was getting long and I wanted to put out what I have so far. When I finish the rest I will put it up as chapter 23. Thank you for everyone leaving me such wonderful reviews. I have learned a lot from them and appreciate my viewers taking time to leave me feedback!