Demon's Vengeance The Complete - Jocelynn Drake Page 0,133

time, steal souls, and scorch the sky, but it was never enough.”

“Why?”

Chang paused and finally dropped his gaze to me. “Because they were always afraid that we knew more.”

“So they killed you . . .”

“Yes,” he hissed.

“I’m sorry.”

I don’t know whether Chang heard me. He’d lifted his head back toward the sky, his eyes following a brilliant blue-and-green dragon as it streaked across the heavens. “It has been more than a century since I saw another of my kind. Will you kill me now, warlock?”

“No!” I shouted. Digging my heels into the earth, I pushed back to my feet. Of course, standing didn’t really make me feel better since the dragon towered over me. “Why the hell would I even think that? I don’t give a damn what you are and you know it. My only concern is stopping this lunatic. Are you helping him?”

“No.”

“Then why would I kill you? Not that I could. We both know I couldn’t hurt you, Chang, so the question isn’t fucking funny.”

“I am a dragon.”

“Yeah, and I’m a freaking warlock and a member of the goddamn Towers! You gonna kill me now?” At this point, anger was starting to overwhelm the fear I felt. Or maybe I was just shouting at the dragon because I was scared out of my mind. It wasn’t the wisest course, but the past few days had succeeded in pushing me to my breaking point and I was a little beyond rational thought.

“Maybe.”

“Damn it, Chang! I’ve had enough games!”

Magic crackled in the air and there was a low rumble of something like thunder even though there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. One of the dragons roared as it passed overhead, as though it sensed the sudden surge in magic.

Trixie was right. I was losing control of the magic; my anger and frustration was overpowering my control.

Taking a couple steps closer to Chang, I held my hands out and open toward him. “I’m a warlock, Chang, but you know I wouldn’t hurt you,” I said in a low voice. “We’ve known each other for too long. You’ve helped me out of too many bad scrapes. I think we’re as close to being friends as the two of us are capable of being.” I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath, savoring the smell of lavender hanging on the air. I’m sorry about your people and the Towers. I’m sorry—”

A hand landed on my shoulder and my eyes jumped open to find Chang, the human version of Chang, standing beside me in the little kitchenette in the warehouse below the earth. Worry drew deep lines in his wrinkled face and I couldn’t remember him ever having that expression when he looked at me. “The fate of my people is not your fault.”

“So you don’t hate the Towers?”

A small smile pushed away some of the concern in his eyes. “No, I hate them and would like to see them gone after their betrayal, but taking that hatred out on you will not bring back my lost people.” The old man eased back into his chair as if his body was suddenly plagued with aches and pains, but there was a mischievousness glinting in his brown eyes. “But that’s not to say that I didn’t think of using you a time or two in hopes of causing the Towers problems. Of course, you’ve managed that on your own over the years. You didn’t need any nudging from me.”

“Are you helping this person working the Death Magic?”

Chang frowned at me and I knew I’d insulted him. “No.”

“Do you know who this is?”

“No. I don’t know him personally.”

I clenched my teeth. He was evading my question with that little addition. Getting the truth out of Chang was sometimes like nailing Jell-O to the wall. The bastard hoarded information like he hoarded his other treasures and only willingly gave something away when he thought he could get something more valuable in return.

“Do you think this person is also a dragon?”

“No,” he said quickly, the word jumping from his tongue sharp and clipped. I was afraid that he ruled out this person being a dragon because his actions were so tasteless and reprehensible. He simply didn’t want to be related to this creature in any way.

“Then what in the world is doing this? It’s not like I can make a list of likely enemies. Everyone hates the fucking Towers.”

“You can. There are not many races who are old enough to know about Death Magic