Dark Heat: The Dark Kings Stories by Donna Grant Read Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Donna Grant
sitting upon a boulder with his head in his hands.
It was no surprise to find the man without bonds. After all, he was surrounded by Dragon Kings.
“I’ve told you I doona know my name!” he shouted.
The man’s head lifted when Hal approached, and he was struck by the desolation in the stranger’s dark eyes.
“Is the woman all right?”
Hal nodded to the stranger. “Aye. Cassie will be fine.”
“He held the sword as if he’s used one before,” Rhys said.
The stranger snorted. “Of course I’ve used a sword. What kind of Highlander can no’ wield a blade?”
Hal crossed his arms over his chest and studied the man. “So, you’re a Highlander. Where are you from?”
“I—” The stranger squeezed his eyes closed and gave a vicious shake of his head. “—I should know. It’s just out of reach,” he said between clenched teeth, his fury obvious.
After a moment he opened his eyes and lifted his head. “I’ve no memories. Of anything. My name, where I’ve come from, or what I’m doing here.”
Hal rubbed his eyes with this thumb and forefinger. What did it mean for this stranger not to have memories? Would it aid them in the coming weeks? Or hinder them?
“Have you always had the tat on your chest?” Guy asked.
The man parted the jacket he wore and glanced at his bare chest. “I doona think so. Nay, I didna.”
“Though we should wait for Con, I think you have a right to know,” Banan told the stranger.
The man raked his hand through his chin-length brown hair streaked with gold and twisted his lips in a smirk. “I doona believe I’m going to like what you’re about to say.”
“You may no’ know your name or where you came from, but what Banan is about to tell you will at least allow you to know what you are,” Hal said.
“ What I am?” the stranger repeated, his dark eyes narrowing. “What’s that supposed to mean? I’m a man.”
Rhys rubbed his hand over his chin and chuckled. “No’ exactly, my friend. What you are is one of us.”
“And I can say with all honesty, it has been hundreds of millennia since once of us was created,” Guy stated.
The stranger looked to each of them before his dark gaze, intense and demanding, came to rest on Hal. “What are you?”
“Immortal and extremely powerful. In short, we’re Kings, but no’ of people. We’re the Dragon Kings.”
“Immortal,” the man repeated, his eyes going distant as if he were remembering something. “I … that doesna bother me as it should.”
Hal and Rhys exchanged glances while Guy began to walk slowly around their newest Dragon King.
“You say you are Dragon Kings?” the man asked intrigued.
Banan shook his head. “Nay, you are a King now as well. You’ll be better off considering yourself one of us from the start.”
“He needs a name,” Guy said. “At least until he remembers his own.”
The stranger gripped his head and growled. “Why can I no’ remember anything?”
Rhys reached for the new King’s sword only to have the stranger move with lightning speed to grab it. The man spun around, his sword raised with the point directed at Rhys as he glared.
Rhys lifted his hands with a half grin full of eagerness and anticipation for battle. “Is that all you have?”
Hal along with Guy and Banan began to close in on their newest member. Not once did he flinch as he looked at each of them.
There was no way he would have been made into a King if he was weak, but by the look gleaming in his dark eyes, he welcomed their attack.
After eons together, Hal and the others didn’t need words to convey what each of them should do. With barely a glance at one another, they attacked.
Hal made a grab for the sword while Banan dived for the man’s legs. Guy rammed a fist into the man’s ribs and Rhys leapt into the air to wrap an arm around the throat of the new King.
With a great roar, the man kept on his feet. Hal managed to knock the sword away, and in that instant the newest King
It was no surprise to find the man without bonds. After all, he was surrounded by Dragon Kings.
“I’ve told you I doona know my name!” he shouted.
The man’s head lifted when Hal approached, and he was struck by the desolation in the stranger’s dark eyes.
“Is the woman all right?”
Hal nodded to the stranger. “Aye. Cassie will be fine.”
“He held the sword as if he’s used one before,” Rhys said.
The stranger snorted. “Of course I’ve used a sword. What kind of Highlander can no’ wield a blade?”
Hal crossed his arms over his chest and studied the man. “So, you’re a Highlander. Where are you from?”
“I—” The stranger squeezed his eyes closed and gave a vicious shake of his head. “—I should know. It’s just out of reach,” he said between clenched teeth, his fury obvious.
After a moment he opened his eyes and lifted his head. “I’ve no memories. Of anything. My name, where I’ve come from, or what I’m doing here.”
Hal rubbed his eyes with this thumb and forefinger. What did it mean for this stranger not to have memories? Would it aid them in the coming weeks? Or hinder them?
“Have you always had the tat on your chest?” Guy asked.
The man parted the jacket he wore and glanced at his bare chest. “I doona think so. Nay, I didna.”
“Though we should wait for Con, I think you have a right to know,” Banan told the stranger.
The man raked his hand through his chin-length brown hair streaked with gold and twisted his lips in a smirk. “I doona believe I’m going to like what you’re about to say.”
“You may no’ know your name or where you came from, but what Banan is about to tell you will at least allow you to know what you are,” Hal said.
“ What I am?” the stranger repeated, his dark eyes narrowing. “What’s that supposed to mean? I’m a man.”
Rhys rubbed his hand over his chin and chuckled. “No’ exactly, my friend. What you are is one of us.”
“And I can say with all honesty, it has been hundreds of millennia since once of us was created,” Guy stated.
The stranger looked to each of them before his dark gaze, intense and demanding, came to rest on Hal. “What are you?”
“Immortal and extremely powerful. In short, we’re Kings, but no’ of people. We’re the Dragon Kings.”
“Immortal,” the man repeated, his eyes going distant as if he were remembering something. “I … that doesna bother me as it should.”
Hal and Rhys exchanged glances while Guy began to walk slowly around their newest Dragon King.
“You say you are Dragon Kings?” the man asked intrigued.
Banan shook his head. “Nay, you are a King now as well. You’ll be better off considering yourself one of us from the start.”
“He needs a name,” Guy said. “At least until he remembers his own.”
The stranger gripped his head and growled. “Why can I no’ remember anything?”
Rhys reached for the new King’s sword only to have the stranger move with lightning speed to grab it. The man spun around, his sword raised with the point directed at Rhys as he glared.
Rhys lifted his hands with a half grin full of eagerness and anticipation for battle. “Is that all you have?”
Hal along with Guy and Banan began to close in on their newest member. Not once did he flinch as he looked at each of them.
There was no way he would have been made into a King if he was weak, but by the look gleaming in his dark eyes, he welcomed their attack.
After eons together, Hal and the others didn’t need words to convey what each of them should do. With barely a glance at one another, they attacked.
Hal made a grab for the sword while Banan dived for the man’s legs. Guy rammed a fist into the man’s ribs and Rhys leapt into the air to wrap an arm around the throat of the new King.
With a great roar, the man kept on his feet. Hal managed to knock the sword away, and in that instant the newest King