Dragon Rage Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Read on for an excerpt from:

  Author’s Note

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Other novels by Kelly Armenta

  DRAGON RAGE

  Dragonfire Series Book 2

  All Rights Reserved © 2007

  By Kelly D. Armenta

  1st Edition 2011

  ISBN 978-0-9846509-4-1

  No part of this book including the cover art, may be reproduced scanned, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system, without the written permission of the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  For information address:

  Kelly D. Armenta

  [email protected]

  Cover art owned by Kelly D. Armenta

  Chapter 1

  I wanted to kill someone. Not just anyone but a certain specific someone. Unfortunately I was in no position to do so at the moment, and was in fact just trying to patiently bide my time. Flicking my eyes down the table I caught sight of my Red staring at me through his lashes. He’d been caught doing it twice already and the person holding the other end of his leash had not been happy. But then Belinda was a sadistic idiot so it didn’t take much to set her off. I just knew it was killing me to sit in my chair as if nothing was wrong while I had to watch one of the ten men that had been bioengineered specifically for me being abused. At least she’d allowed him to sit in a chair.

  Have you ever been in a meeting where you were so angry you felt your head might explode? Well that’s how I felt, had in fact been feeling that way for at least the past hour. Ever since our last guests had arrived and I’d received a nasty shock. It’s so hard to act normal when what you really want to do is shift to Dragon and rip someone’s head off their shoulders! The group at the table had each taken turns whining and complaining because someone had been systematically getting rid of their hired help. It didn’t matter that they were thugs, rapists, and murderers! But then what do you expect from a bunch of criminals?

  My head was pounding, but then that might not all be from rage. Gareth and Jace had had several short floral arrangements done up for the meeting tonight and there were three of them spread up and down the conference table. Between the hors d’oeuvres set out over on the counter and the flowers, the room smelled like a cross between a funeral parlor and a wake. In the corners of the room were several taller floral arrangements. I think their plan was to overwhelm the delicate senses of those present in an attempt to hide my true nature. I’m not sure if they were working on the others, but they had managed to give me a headache. I couldn’t begin to imagine what it was doing to the other more sensitive noses present.

  Perhaps I should back up a bit. My name is Lexi Helyanwe and I am a Dragon. Well actually I am part Dragon, part Elf, with twist of Lust Demon thrown in. I too was bioengineered by my parents, whose goal is to save the Dragon race and maybe the Elves, too. Of course if that secret gets out it’s likely I’ll end up sliced and diced on a stainless steel table in some underground lab. My Father somehow managed to break the DNA code and engineer ten male Dragons and little ol’ me. Not great odds when your goal is to save an entire race, but someone had killed his partners and trashed his lab. He’d had no choice but to go into hiding, which ultimately prevented any more experimentation. Lucky for me no one knew that Mom had been inseminated and I was already on a path that would lead me to this room some twenty five years later.

  Up until recently I’d managed to live a quiet life in which I was a mild mannered manual writer during the day. However, my nights were a different matter entirely. During the wee hours of the night I liked to skip through the highways and byways of the seedy part of town, working to ensure decent folk were safe from the local non-human underbelly inhabiting San Francisco. This just happened to be one of the reasons why at this exact moment I was sitting in the conference room surrounded by the heads of the most prominent non-human crime organizations. Of course none of them know I’m the one they’re looking for, except of course Jace and Gareth. It was their conference room and their meeting.

  Less than a week ago I’d been a nice girl just out looking for a little fun. Fortune had smiled on me and I’d discovered Gareth Blue and Jace Green, my sweeties, both Dragons. Since then my life has turned upside down. I’ve lost my innocence, and my job, took up cohabitation with Gareth and Jace, been to Hell and back… literally, and acquired an Elf, a half Goblin, a Minor God, and my very own Demon. Not a bad week, all in all. I’d also slipped up and made the papers when my status as a Princess of Faerie was exposed. I can tell you that hadn’t made Mom happy! She yelled at me, I yelled at her, and she’d gone off to see about getting her Mom, the Queen, to reopen the Sidhe doors. Something that hadn’t happened since they’d slammed closed more than fifty years earlier. That was when a deadly virus had spread across the United States, killing a good portion of the population, and bringing the non-humans out of the closet, so to speak.

  With all the excitement in my life recently, did I mention just this afternoon someone had opened a portal to another dimension? And had nearly overrun our den with little furry beasties that had no legs or arms but really sharp teeth! Anyway with all this going on, you would think I might have caught a break and things wouldn’t have turned so complicated during this very important meeting. Sometimes though, luck just doesn’t work out that way.

  So here I sit trying to pretend I’m Elfin Royalty, which of course I actually am, though it isn’t like I’ve ever seen the inside of a Sidhe or anything. I’m breathing through my nose, with both my mental shields fully raised, and trying not to use one of my new powers on the crazy red Dragon bitch holding the leash on my man down the table.

  “What’s a redhead’s dating motto? … the fastest way to a man’s heart is through his ribcage. What’s safer, a red head or a piranha? … a piranha, they only attack in schools,” whispered Kit, my sexy Demon who was currently balanced on my shoulder, perfectly disguised as a miniature black and silver dragon. He was doing his best to distract me but it didn’t seem to be helping. He’d started out with Little Johnny jokes but had finally given up and moved on to red heads. I didn’t think it was very funny, partially because I have reddish-gold hair, and partially because it was not the time for joke telling. But then that wouldn’t have been a deterrent for Kit. He seemed to thrive on elevated passions… probably because he’s a fully fleshed Lust Demon.

  Beside me on the floor, Owen, in his wolf disguise yawned, flashing his three inch canines. His white tipped ears swiveled back and forth as one of the Dwarves across the table rambled on and on about the trouble they’d been having. I wasn’t in the least bit interested in their lost revenues. In fact I would have preferred to get rid of the lot of them, but Gareth and Jace had reminded me that it was easier to deal with the devil you knew versus the one that might take their place. Though they both agreed it was a nice daydream. Gareth and Jace ran a club called The Salt
y Dog, which was really just a front for a training ground of government elite Hunters. As the official government representatives, it was their job to ensure no race wars broke out in their domain. Dragons are very territorial and they take their job seriously.

  I myself am a Hunter, have been for several years. Thanks to Mom and Mi, my lifelong friend, nanny, tutor, and Merecat - Keeper of Knowledge extraordinaire, I was a Hunter with full privileges as well as being off the government’s grid.

  Down the table Belinda must have noticed Marcus looking in my direction again because she yanked the leash so hard he slammed his cheek into the top of the black lacquer conference table. I tensed and fought to remain calm. My eyes narrowed slightly as I dropped my upper shield, waited five seconds then slammed it closed again. Beside me Jace increased the pressure on the arms of his leather chair but didn’t make a sound. Down at the other end of the table Belinda grabbed her head with both hands, giving Marcus the opportunity to slowly sit back up in his chair. His eyes slipped down the table again in my direction while Belinda moaned slightly and shook her head.

  I was sitting there going through all the things I’d like to do to Belinda when Jace leaned over and gently ran his fingers up my arm. On the other side of me Owen’s large pink tongue licked my fingers, bringing my attention back to the room so that I realized everyone had gone quiet and were staring at me. “Are you well?” Jace asked softly.

  Turning my head I glanced at him, raising an eyebrow in question.

  “You are… smoking,” he informed me.

  I fought to keep my expression from showing surprise. What exactly did he mean by saying I was smoking? Kit leaned in to whisper in my ear. “You’ve got smoke coming out your nostrils.” Then he twisted his neck and blew out a perfect smoke ring in the shape of a heart down the table.

  “I beg your pardon,” I told the room at large, my lips lifting slightly. “I didn’t mean to distract you.” Then I reached up to stroke Kit’s side, wondering when I’d developed that ability! Maybe it was a hold over from earlier in the day when I’d breathed fire, thanks to Kit. Whatever the source, I needed to get a hold of myself before I did something even worse.

  Milos the Wizard leaned forward and glanced at me from the chair on the other side of Jace, his greedy eyes watching Kit. “I didn’t realize Elves could do that,” he commented.

  Running my fingers over the double set of horns on Kit’s head, I stared back at him. Kit bumped my hand and nipped a finger then blew out another smoke ring… this one star shaped.

  “Where ever did you get such a perfect specimen?” Milos muttered and I was forced to smooth Kit’s sides as he turned his head and flicked his little red tongue, growling low in his throat at the Wizard.

  “He was contracted for at my birth,” I told him. Elves mustn’t lie and technically I hadn’t. “I’m not aware of the details.” My response seemed to irritate him, probably because he’d like a mini-sized Dragon for a pet too. Of course he’d have to go to Hell to get one. That is, after all, where Demons reside. On my shoulder Kit rumbled again and I didn’t know if he was sensing something that I couldn’t with my shields in place. Hell, I didn’t even know if there was anything to sense, since Milos was merely human. As it was, his aura was very pale and hadn’t changed color since he’d stepped into the conference room.

  “Enough with the Dragon runt, can we get back to the problem at hand?” Eldal the Dwarf demanded, his hand pounding the table with irritation. Next to him Dten the other Dwarf nodded, his dark eyes dismissing me. Apparently not all Dwarfs got along with Elves. Or maybe it was just that I’m female and Dwarfs are extremely sexist.

  At the sound of his hand hitting the table, Kit jumped and his back foot slipped off my shoulder, his little nails digging into the tender flesh of my upper chest. Down the table Valentine leaned forward sharply, his nostrils flaring. “Ahhh,” he breathed, his light eyes intent upon the small drops of blood pooling on the golden skin just below my collarbone. Across from me both Bodark and Alan seemed to delicately sniff the air. Bodark went so far as to lick his lips in true Werewolf fashion.

  Leaning forward slightly, I allowed the movement to cover the fact that I shifted and quickly healed myself. Sitting back I glanced down as if just noticing the blood on me.

  Gareth leaned forward and our eyes met. “I think he’s torn a nail,” I muttered, just loud enough for everyone to hear. Kit looked contrite and obligingly held out his back foot, one of the nails looking bent at an odd angle. Plucking him off my shoulder I set him on the table in front of me where he licked gingerly at his foot. He’d made it look like it had actually been torn and I breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing we needed was to have Valentine recognize me for a Dragon when we were working so hard to keep that a secret.

  Gareth reached into his pocket then handed Amras a handkerchief. Behind me a door opened and distantly I heard the sound of running water. A moment later he was back and Owen scooted out of his way.

  Amras went to one knee next to my chair, his violet eyes searching my face. “May I?” he asked softly, and then dabbed the blood off me when I nodded. When he was done his efforts revealed my perfectly unblemished skin and he stood back up and returned to his guard position behind me. At the other end of the table Valentine slumped back into his chair, but not before he smiled and flashed the tips of his vampire fangs, while Bodark glanced at Alan, who raised an eyebrow and shrugged a shoulder.

  When Eldal and Dten were finally done with their long winded list of complaints, Angel, the overly large Werehyena seated to Valentine’s right, leaned forward. Her beady deep set eyes narrowed on Gareth, then moved to Jace. “I don’t want to be here and I didn’t appreciate having to wade through that forest of reporters outside your club. Unlike the others I couldn’t care less about your new plaything and whether or not she’s really a Princess. I just want it to stop.”

  “Or what?” Gareth asked, his voice calm but chilling. That he chose to ignore Angel’s rude comment about me didn’t go unnoticed. Perhaps it was because this meeting was being governed by a strict set of rules made to prevent a full out blood bath amongst the respective heads of crime. In any event I fought the urge to rub my arms and was grateful once again for the long sleeves Areth had provided me with.

  Angel growled low and slumped back into her chair, her yellow eyes dropping to the table. I’ve never particularly cared for hyenas… all their slumping and slinking around tended to irritate me.

  Across from Jace, Alan, the head of the local Werejaguar pack, steepled his fingers together and spoke, his warm sexy voice filling the room. “The activity seems to have stopped over the past week. Have you found the culprit and dealt with him?” Good God, the man’s voice was lethal and I nearly swayed in my chair, the sound affected me so. What was it about this man that set my Lust Demon parts on point? Even in the midst of my rage I couldn’t seem to ignore his sex appeal. I’d been told he and his people could procure nearly anything for a price, and that his operation was responsible for the movement of all types of exotic artifacts, not all of which were necessarily inanimate. On the table, Kit stood up abruptly, taking several stiff steps in Alan’s direction before arching his back and hissing softly.

  Jace chuckled and moved his foot under the table so that it touched my leg in warning. I gave him a sidelong glance and dropped my upper shield. His eyes widened and his lips lifted slightly. Down the table Belinda slapped her palms to the table, a curse escaping her as she glared angrily around the room. Up until then she’d been so busy dealing with the static my upper shield put out, she hadn’t participated much in the conversations. Too bad she hadn’t been so distracted that she forgot to torment Marcus.

  “I do not think the little one likes you,” Bodark remarked with an amused look on his face. He was a clean cut attractive man easily as tall as Owen, somewhere in the range of six and a half feet. He had short hair and a very wide set of shoulders covered in black leather, which looked like it might groan if it cou
ld speak, it was so tightly molded to his well developed chest and arms. His voice carried a hint of his Russian ancestry. From what Gareth had told me yesterday, the man was in the business of protection. His operation provided muscle for half the city. He looked fairly young to be in a position of such power but then I really had no way of knowing just how old he really was. He looked like he might be in his mid thirties? Though with Weres it was hard to judge, he could easily have been one hundred and thirty for all I knew.

  Alan glanced at Kit and then me as he raised an eyebrow and stated, “Yes, he looks quite distraught. Perhaps he senses that where I come from we eat little lizards.”

  For once it wasn’t me causing the problem, or maybe it was, since Kit was only trying to protect me from myself and the strange fascination I’d had for Alan since he’d first entered the room. In any event, Kit spread his wings and little licks of flames shot out his mouth. I was suddenly worried he might launch himself at Alan and did the only thing I could think to prevent him. “Kit,” I whispered, my voice going soft and seductive as I leaned forward and carefully cracked open the little red door in my mind, then breathed just a hint of desire at him. Gone in an instant was the haughty Elf, replaced by a woman secure in my ability to pleasure a man.

  Kit’s wings hesitated and his head rotated slowly toward me. When I crooked my finger at him his little red eyes whirled, sending sparkles across the table top. “Come let me hold you,” I urged him. He covered the distance between us in an instant. I plucked him from the table and gently placed him in my lap, where he rubbed his head and neck along my stomach, nearly purring his satisfaction. I took a second or two to stroke his sides and back. Behind me Cursed and Amras both shifted and I raised my head, discovering I was suddenly glad there was at least six feet of table separating me from the men on the other side.

  Alan dragged his slightly glazed eyes from my face and turned to Gareth. “My compliments, I begin to understand your need for guards.” Bodark didn’t seem capable of speech and just stared at me for several seconds before his eyelids dropped to half mast and his lips turned up. The look on his face would have made me nervous if I hadn’t been surrounded by my men. And he was so large, even with the table separating us, it seemed he could nearly reach me if he lost control.