even trying to hide her fear.
Kaylen took her face in his hands while Damir
grabbed her hands. "What do you feel?"
She shook her head, unable to really explain. "I
burn. There is a fire raging inside me."
"You sure do pick your times, don't you?"
Kaylen muttered.
"What? What the hell is happening to me? Is it
my grandmother's power?"
"No," Damir said, squeezing her hand in
comfort. "Aliante, it's your dragon awakening for
the first time. The dragoness can sense the danger
surrounding you and is awakening to protect you
and our children."
Her stomach clenched. Burning pain ripped
through her abdomen, up her chest and down her
legs. She doubled over, unable to stand the
onslaught of pain. Kiri stopped, turned and ran
toward them as soon as Brandy collapsed. Brandy
shook her head, waved at her to keep going. "Go,
you must get into the temple, but be aware of your
surroundings. We are encircled by the enemy."
When it looked like Kiri would ignore her
command, Drace and Fury stepped forward,
pulling their mate to a stop. "You mustn't disobey
Brandy right now, no matter how your heart begs
you to. Her mates will allow no harm to come to
her," Drace assured her.
Fury ran his hair through Kiri's hair. "Drace is
right. There must be a reason this is happening
now, and who are we to go question what must
be."
Through her pain, Brandy could see Kiri's
indecision. "Save your strength, Kiri. It will be
needed shortly. It is just my dragon emerging,
warning me of impending danger."
Kiri slowly nodded then turned back toward
the other Triads. All fifteen members of the other
Triads looked out beyond the tree line, into the
meadow where standing stones surrounded the
temple, leaving Brandy in the care of her mates.
Brandy clenched her knees then shoved off until
she was standing once again. "What do I need to
do to quench the fire?"
Damir and Kaylen exchanged glances. Finally,
Damir spoke. "You must shift into your dragoness
form, aliante. Only then will the burning pain
ease."
"You have got to be kidding me."
Kaylen shook his head. "Unfortunately, we are
not. If your dragoness is emerging, then there is a
reason she has chosen this moment to do so. You
are as much dragoness as you are the Lady
Goddess's granddaughter."
Brandy threw back her head in agitation.
Another wave of fire washed through her body.
Finally, she nodded, unwilling to ignore any type
of sign at this point. "Tell me what to do."
"Look inside yourself, deep inside yourself, and
search for your dragoness. She'll be there
sheltering your soul, protecting all that you are."
Nodding, Brandy closed her eyes, blotting out
everything happening around her. She mustn't be
distracted--not now! As though she was just
waiting for Brandy's acknowledgement, Brandy
sensed her dragoness, just as her mates said she
would. She could practically see her dragon.
Already, it was fiercely protective of her unborn
children, surrounding her womb with the
protective magic of dragon kind.
Embrace her, Brandy, Damir whispered through
their mind-link. Follow us. We shall shift with you,
showing you the way.
Give yourself over to your dragon. Just let yourself
go, added Kaylen.
In her mind, Brandy grabbed onto her dragon,
merging their minds together before reaching out
toward the link provided by her mates. As though
from a distance she watched her body contort, felt
her body change, yet there was no pain, no fear of
the unknown. Her dragoness protected her from
it, yet allowed her to know what was happening
to her, and around her.
She could hear a battle raging in the distance,
knew that she must protect the others. Finally, the
burning stopped and she opened her eyes, only to
find a red dragon on one side of her, a blue on the
other. Damir and Kaylen--her mates.
Ahh, you make a beautiful dragon, Kaylen
whispered through her mind.
Yes she does, Kaylen. And, she shares both our
colors.
Just then, Brandy heard a loud bellow, then a
lion's roar. We must help the others. If even one falls,
all is lost. As though she'd flown as a dragon all
her life, Brandy's wings unfurled and began to
flap in the air. She looked to the sky, aimed her
thoughts at the treetops, and as easily as that she
was airborne. Within seconds, her mates were
flanking her as the dived toward the meadow
where a battle raged. The meadow was overrun
with Hienials, yet tigers, lions, bears, and wolves
were overpowering them.
Jaynee and Laynee stood back to back, their
arms raised as they tried to weave spells. From the
corner of her eye, Brandy noticed a priestess from
the temple approaching them. Something wasn't
right about the woman though. As she flew closer
to the twins, she noticed the priestess clutching a
dagger in her hand.
Enraged, Brandy and her mates dove toward
the priestess, breathing fire over the woman. An
eerie and inhuman shriek reached their ears.
Before her eyes, the woman began to morph,
taking on a dozen different shapes before falling to
the ground, dead. It could only be a Banart, hiding
among the priestesses at the temple. How many
more were inside, waiting to attack them?
Jaynee and Laynee, looked up at her and her
mates, both smiling their thanks before going back
to weaving their spells. The battle was wearing
down, but not yet over, so Brandy in her dragon
form and her mates, dove for the Hienials, either
scooping them up to drop them from the sky, or
ripping their bodies to shreds right there in the
meadow.
Inside the body of the dragoness, Brandy
shuddered, still not comfortable with the level of
violence and bloodshed around her. Born a healer,
she never thought she'd take a life when she'd
spent years saving them.
You do what you must, granddaughter. You have
become what you were meant to, so have faith in
yourself and your mates.
As you say, grandmother. Brandy searched the
glen, circled the standing stones to see if any more
Hienials hid nearby. Seeing no more of the enemy,
Brandy headed toward the center of the meadow,
where the others had come together.
As soon as her clawed feet hit the ground, she
felt her dragoness recede. Back in human form,
and dressed as she had been before her dragon
emerged, Brandy looked around the glen. Dozens
of Hienials littered the ground. None of them had
survived the encounter. She couldn'
t help but be
relieved even though it went against her training.
She looked over toward Kiri, needing to ensure
that she could handle seeing so many dead. It was
too late for Kiri to try to save their souls and she
worried that it would be too much for the
kindhearted woman to handle, but she found her
surrounded by her mates, Drace and Fury.
Brandy's tension eased, knowing that she'd be
taken care of. Rachana, Kel and Wray stood in
front of the temple doors, waiting for Jaynee and
Laynee to ensure that it was safe to enter. Sayre,
the witches began to chant in front of the temple.
Minna, Dax and Rage faced outward, continually
searching their surroundings for hidden danger.
Jaynee and Laynee clasped hands then turned
toward the waiting crowd. "We sense no traps.
Though I'd still be wary once we enter," cautioned
Jaynee. Dare and Luc stepped forward, each
grabbing one of the long cylindrical door handles.
Dax and Rage stepped in front of the women,
while Fury, Drace, Sayre and Fane, and Wray and
Kel circled the party, with Brandy and her mates
guarding their backs.
As the approached the altar, Brandy's gaze
wandered the room. The walls of the temple were
made of some type of white marble. The floors,
too. The altar was made of a shiny black material
with rose-colored veins through it. Hanging above
the altar was the largest crystal Brandy had ever
seen.
The crystal seemed to call to her. Her amulet
began to glow and grow warm against her skin.
She looked to the others, and noticed theirs, too,
began to shimmer with a golden brilliance. The
crystal above the altar began to sing and glow. The
louder the hum grew, the more their amulets
reacted, throwing off heat and light.
As before, knowledge bombarded Brandy's
mind. This time she didn't question what was
happening to her. "Everyone, form a circle around
the altar then join hands. I want you to channel
everything you are, your love, your joy, your
happiness, and your goodness through the
amulets. Infuse your amulets with your soul."
Quickly, everyone moved into position. It
didn't take long for the bond to form, linking them
and their amulets together. The amulet against her
chest began to vibrate and hum, matching the tune
of the crystal hanging above them. Within
seconds, a bright beam of golden light shot out of
her amulet, striking the crystal. Soon, the other
amulets did the same. Eighteen beams of golden
light infused the crystal, making it shake and
shudder. The crystal began to glow even brighter.
The humming grew louder. The doors behind
them shuddered. The marble walls quaked.
Brandy looked around, afraid that the temple
would collapse around them. A noise above her
head had her looking up. A small gap formed in
the ceiling. It grew larger and larger as the walls
continued to shake. "Look," she gasped. As all
eyes focused on the opening in the ceiling of the
temple, a beam of such brilliance shot through the
top of the crystal and out through the opening.
She could feel a blast of power leave the temple,
similar to what happened during the space-battles.
This time, however, the amount of power let loose
had to be a thousand times greater. For several
long minutes, they continued to channel their
power, their very souls through the amulets until
suddenly their amulets stopped glowing and the
crystal above grew silent.
Brandy, staggered by the events of the day,
looked to the others. "What do you think we just
did?"
When no one answered, she looked up at
ceiling where all evidence of what just happened
was gone. The point at the top of the temple had
closed.
* * * *
A bright light appeared in the center of the temple
near the crystal that had amplified the power of
the amulets. It didn't take long for the light to
change into the form of the Lady Goddess.
Grandmother, she gently reminded Brandy.
Yes, ma'am. She smiled, holding her hand over
her stomach, still shocked to realize she was a
dragon and pregnant with twins. She almost felt
She glanced at the others around her and
realized everyone looked different somehow.
Happier. More content. Perhaps they felt the same
lightness of heart she did now. The evil was gone
from this place. It was no small feeling.
I knew I could count on you all. I knew that the
goodness in you would outweigh any pettiness or
suspicion. Heed my words. You are good people. You
will raise wonderful children. You no longer need fear
the Banarts, nor the Hienials. There are no Banarts
and no full-blooded Hienials left.
She waved her hand and Ryo appeared next to
Kiri and her mates. She glided over to the boy and
knelt in front of him. The evil ones are no more. The
Banart are gone and the Hienials are dead. Yet, they
left behind them a legacy. Halflings, such as yourself.
They will need guidance and it is up to you to find and
lead them. Those who are older can never lead for their
hearts were once corrupted by evil and they died with
their Banart masters. You are the oldest. You are now
their king. Find them and make a life with them.
"But...what if I turn bad, too?" Ryo asked, his
eyes wide and filled with tears as if he feared the
worst.
Dear, Ryo, it was not the Hienial who were evil. It
was the Banarts. They exploited the Hienials when
they came to them offering help to find women and to
experiment on the males to help bring girl children into
the world.
The Hienial were a peaceful people until the Banart
came and turned them into the monsters you all knew.
The Banart are no more. The power of the amulets
brought their demise across the galaxy. Each temple
magnified the power until it was finally sent to the
other worlds and other temples across the galaxy. Every
Banart and evil Hienial everywhere are gone. Nothing
is left of them but the horrible memory of their existence
and the halflings. You must find them. It is your
destiny as it will be for all of the Children of the
Triad.
Watch for the continuing story coming soon from
eXtasy Books:
Children of the Triad series
* * *
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Tianna Xander is the author of several paranormal, time-
travel and science fiction romance novels. She loves reading
everything from romance novels, murder mysteries and
encyclopedias, to handbooks on solar energy. Tianna is the
first to admit she s
pends far too much time surfing the
internet and chatting with her online friends and critique
groups.
Having written many novels and working on at least one
more at any given time, Tianna still finds time for her family,
friends and her many pets. She currently lives in Michigan
with her husband, two children, three cats, two big dogs and
one occasionally terrorized Netherland Dwarf bunny. Her
life is anything but boring.
Visit Tianna's website at http://www.TiannaXander.com
Hi there. My name is Bonnie Rose Leigh and I've been
writing since I was just a tyke. I live in a small town in
Upstate, New York and spend most of my time on the
computer either writing, or visiting with my friends. If I'm
not busy on the computer, I spend my free time reading. It
doesn't matter what genre the book is either, though I am
partial to romance novels. If I'm not in my office, I can be
found sprawled in a chair with a book clutched in my hand
and a cup of cocoa sitting nearby.
To learn about all of my upcoming releases, please visit my
website at: http://www.mybonnierose.net
* * *