PART 8

PART 8

Gabrielle and her circle sat around a golden orange bonfire, awaiting the appropriate time, when the new moon completely blocked the silvery light of Venus. Everything was prepared and ready; this was their moment of greatest accomplishment. Our Power is gathered and unified, nothing can stop us now. Kaelin is keeping an eye on that whiny, self-important bitch, Madeline has taken care of Griffin, and no one else can possibly know of our plans. They will be taken care of permanently once we are finished here.

She turned her amber eyes to the night sky, searching for the tiny pinprick of light that was Venus. The new moon was almost on top of it now, it's shadow and even deeper black against the darkness of the sky. It was almost time. She opened the heavy, musty tome at her feet; it was ancient, and dated back to the time of the first books. It told the story of how the dragons had been put to sleep by her earliest ancestors, and it was one of the only records in the entire world of the spell used to do it. And once Gabrielle had the spell, the counterspell was an easy thing to create.

They were going to raise a dragon. Drakosa, a young Prince of the ancient shapeshifters and a being of, so the tales said, vision. He, out of all the slumbering serpents, was the most likely to go along with the Night World's plans. His ambition was tempered with caution, yet he was still a dangerous ally. Gabrielle would have to use all her guile and charm and power in order to bind him, even temporarily, to the Night World's cause. Yet, despite all that, he was the best hope they had. With Azhdeha killed by that damn Drache and his panther bitch, Drakosa was the only hope. She wouldn't, couldn't, fail.

Gabrielle narrowed her eyes as the moon moved into position at last, blocking the light of Venus. She and her Circle stood as one and raised their arms to the level of their eyes, palms up. "Our Power is vast," chanted Gabrielle.

"The Power in the Earth stirs, our Power calls to it," answered the rest of the Circle.

"The Power takes form."

"Drakosa, arise!"

"May the chains of your bondage be broken, Drakosa, dark dragon of fire," Gabrielle chanted, her voice raising in volume to overcome the rumbling emanating from the ground at her feet.

"May you awaken, Drakosa and come to us. Our Power is vast and we call to you."

Gabrielle waited for endless moments, allowing tension to build in the earth and in the Circle. At last she completed the counterspell. "We call you to awaken, heed our Power, cast off your chains and come to us!"

Silence. Even the rumbling of the earth had stopped as Gabrielle completed the spell. It seemed to be waiting….

And then, with no warning other than a faint rumble, the earth began to shake violently. The entire Circle was thrown to the ground as the very ground split in two. A few moments later, it was over, and there was a gouge in the earth as though God had reached down from heaven to cut it with a mighty knife. As Gabrielle slowly regained her bearings, she heard a sound, akin to the low rumbling of the earth, and also similar to the growl of a wild animal. A warning. Suddenly, the cold, calculating, Circle Midnight witch was terrified. There was no way she could control a dragon! What the fuck had she been thinking?

*Witches. Smell of fear. Good enough to eat…*

The thought wasn't hers, and it certainly hadn't come from the still dazed Circle. Drakosa, thought Gabrielle. Oh Goddess, I'm going to die now.

PART 9

Ah, the smell of terror, how he had missed it! During those long years asleep, Drakosa could only dream of this moment, his return into the world of delicious humans and meddlesome witches. Now he had all he had dreamed he'd have upon awakening from the accursed slumber: a meal of terror and blood, and revenge upon those who had enslaved him inside his own mind. These foolish mortals would soon learn that dragons do not forgive, and they never, ever forget.

He emerged silently and slowly from his resting place within the earth, preparing himself for his first meal in millennia. Sweet delicious fear tickled and inflamed his senses as he walked toward the mortals idiotic enough to awaken him. *They get what they deserve,* he thought. One girl alone stood up and faced him. A witch with glowing amber eyes, filled with fear and determination. Drakosa felt something like respect for this witch who would meet her death with such resolve. Not resolved to die, but knowing that she was powerless to prevent it should he wish to end her life. And he did.

"Witccchh girl," he hissed, his voice carrying the weight of thousands of years.

Startled, the girl looked up at him, but said nothing.

"I am hungry. Your panic sssssmells so deliciousss, I think I will jusssst eat you alive right now."

"No!" she cried, but her protest could not save her. Drakosa reared back, then lunged with the speed of a striking snake. The sound of snapping bone was a symphony to his ears, if dragons possessed ears. The unfortunate girl was dead in seconds, her head lolled to one side at a humanly impossible angle, and her blood and flesh filled his mouth, a sweet delectable taste that Drakosa had been longing for during his millennia of slumber.

*More,* he said as he finished off the amber eyed witch. And there was more. Fifteen others lay scattered on the ground around him, either unconscious or paralyzed by their unbridled terror. *Today is a good day.*

***

*Cold!* That was Griffin's first thought when the unknown sensation hit him like a blow to the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. *And dark. Very, very evil. Something isn't right.* He sat up quickly and looked around the darkened room that Madeline had led him to, out from under the watchful eyes of the Circle. He didn't know why she had finally decided to rebel against the Circle she'd been a part of since maturity, but he was extremely grateful. Funny how in just a few days, less than a week, a person's whole outlook can change.

Griffin himself didn't know why he had decided to betray the Circle, either. He knew that it had everything to do with Alyson Roze, the beautiful girl with long raven hair and blue, blue eyes. The Daybreaker witch who was, inexplicably, his soulmate. Everything had changed for him once she'd come to Worcester. Some changes he liked, others he accepted, but he hated being severed from his family and his Circle. Even if Gabrielle had gone slightly insane in her quest for power and, as she saw it, survival, she was still a sister, and Griffin felt guilty betraying her.

Of course, he couldn't go back, even if he wanted to. He was too much of a liability to the Circle, they couldn't be sure where his loyalties lay. He wondered if Gabrielle was having any trouble raising that dragon. She was so proud of herself when she discovered how to reverse the spell of eternal sleep the witches of ancient times placed on them. And Griffin had been proud of her as well, proud that a member of his Circle, his family had achieved something so important. But now he was not proud, he was ashamed that he had ever endorsed so dangerous an idea. Why hadn't he realized how many people could be hurt?

*Be honest now, Griff,* he thought to himself. *You knew. You just didn't care how many humans would be hurt. Humans were vermin in your eyes, not worthy of life.*

"Griffin! Are you awake?" called Madeline from the other side of the door.

He took a few calming breaths before responding. "Yeah, I'm up."

"Can I come in?"

"Sure," he responded.

The door opened, revealing a Madeline clad only in a ceremonial white shift and silver circlet. *She must've been casting wards on the building,* he thought. "I was scrying. Gabrielle woke the dragon," she said suddenly.

"Shit," replied Griffin. "Does she control it?"

Madeline shook her head.

"We're fucked."

"We could call in Circle Daybreak. Alyson's mother would know how to contact them. I think that they would help; they would take care of the dragon, at least."

"Yeah. They would try at any rate. Can they handle the dragon and thirteen Circle Midnight witches though?"

Madeline hung her head. "I hope so. I know that we can't do this on our own."

Griffin sighed. "Okay then. Let's go talk to Mrs. Roze."