Page 30 of To Fall for a Dragon

“We saw him talking with a young fella near the older letters. I’m not sure what was going on, but that young man was not happy at being cornered like that,” one of the ladies said with a fierce scowl. “I am not impressed with how the mayor’s running this town, and that man he’s hanging around with? Ooh, he’s a bad apple.”

“Shit,” Hakko swore. His stomach plummeted as he listened. Poe being caught by Sawyer and Elijah was the last thing he wanted, and he'd fucked up protecting Poe from his enemies. “Apologies, ladies. That young man is a good friend, and I must rescue him.”

“You’re such a kind person, Hakko. Always looking out for everyone.” Another lady patted his arm before turning her attention back to Ethan.

Hakko growled, his anger and fear rising as he sought out Poe. He sensed a familiar anxiety but couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from. In the room with the older letters, he spotted the wineglass with his blood in it. It was half empty and left behind on a display case. Not something Poe would do.

“Hakko? What’s going on?” the town patron demon, Lord Typhon, appeared beside Hakko, calming some of the wildness surrounding Hakko.

“His Majesty has taken my friend, and I don’t know… I can’t find them,” Hakko burst out. “Where are they?”

A door slammed, and lights flickered. Hakko whipped his head toward the narrow staff-only hallway and watched as a bulb blinked slowly. Gods, what had he done? He should have kept Poe by his side. Of course, Sawyer and Elijah would target him right away. Poe was so willing to allow himself to be caught if it meant others would be safe. Hakko was the absolute worst dragon. His treasure had been stolen right from under his nose. He’d never forgive himself. Hakko tried to stop the self-flagellation as he and Typhon followed the breadcrumb trail of flickering lights and slamming doors, but it was a constant thrum in his head.

Typhon stopped him from continuing when they heard loud voices. The basement was mostly filled with archives and workrooms for the artifacts. Only staff came down here, so it wasn’t any surprise that Elijah tried to find the emptiest part of the museum.

“Tell me, Poe. What talents do you have? Why were you chosen?” The distorted voice of Hastur and Elijah could be heard distinctly. Hakko ached to rush forward, but he needed to have a rational mind to save Poe. Typhon rested a hand on his shoulder as they listened.

“I didn’t ask,” Poe answered carelessly. Hakko cheered at Poe’s comment even as he worried. Poe’s lack of concern would be a red flag to Hastur.

“See, that’s not the right answer. These letters have magic in them. They’re keyed to you. How did you do it?”

“I don’t know. I told you that. Fuck.” Poe swore, and the sound of flesh being struck almost goaded Hakko into action.

His claws burst through the human skin, and his tail thumped angrily on the floor. How dare a diseased monster hit his mate. Typhon’s hand stopped him.

“Listen, I don’t know what happened. I wrote letters. That’s it. There was no fucking magic.”

“Liar. Sawyer, tell the little man what we do to liars. He needs a demonstration,” Hastur ordered. Hakko wrinkled his nose and held back, even though it killed him. Rage built and built within him. Hastur was a dead man once Hakko entered that room. How dare he lay a tiny finger on Hakko’s most precious vampire? There wouldn’t be a thing recognizable left on Hastur.

Poe’s piercing scream broke Hakko’s concentration, and he stormed the room. His dragon form filled the space as he searched out his mate.

Poe was leaning against a wooden shelf, his hand clamped hard around his neck, and Sawyer stood away from Poe with blood thick and dark dribbling down the side of his mouth. A low growl reverberated in the room as Hakko watched the blood dribble through Poe’s fingers. Smoke swirled around Hakko’s mouth as it dawned on him that Sawyer bit Poe. The dragon within Hakko demanded he rip Sawyer’s head off and feast upon it. Hakko had to reign in his emotions so rationality could win. He had to learn why Sawyer attacked Poe. What the point of the bite was. The expression on Sawyer’s face was one of disgust and dismay. Something didn’t taste right to him, and it was likely Poe. Why was that?

Hastur stood off to the side in his distinctive yellow cape, silent at the unexpected torture performed in front of him. He turned toward Hakko. The emptiness, void of everything but the abyss, terrified Hakko for an instant. He could feel his soul being sucked into the black hole where Elijah’s face should have been.

“Hakko. You had your opportunity to give in peacefully but denied me. So, I have taken what I needed now. You have no say in what happens anymore. The land has never been yours. It belongs to the vampire here, and with time and a bit of coaching, he will pass over his rights to us.” Hastur smiled as much as a demon with empty cowl could. Typhon growled as he moved to stand in front of Hakko. As much as Hakko appreciated the gesture, he was ready to face Hastur on his own.

“It doesn’t work that way, Hastur. You can’t forcibly take the land from its caretaker. It will rebel. It will fight back. Poe could never willingly give you the land because he doesn’t believe it’s his. Your plan in coercing him will fail. Because you can’t understand human nature,” Hakko hissed.

He tried to approach Poe, but a fat tentacle slammed the ground in front of Hakko, stopping him. Hastur shook his head slowly.

“The land is mine, dragon. You have no right to deny me it. Your little vampire that you’ve coddled was created by mine. He will turn on you. He will turn on your little group of do-gooders. It’s in the nature of vampires. Whatever the sire desires, his fledgling will procure. You have no say in the matter.” Hastur glided over to where Poe stood and lifted his chin with one bony finger.

Hakko attempted to pull Poe away from Hastur, but another tentacle wrapped itself around Hakko’s leg and yanked hard, making Hakko lose his balance and fall. He scrambled to hold on to Typhon, but Hastur was too quick.

“My dear little vampire. One day in the future you will realize that denying your basic self is wrong, and you’ll come to me. You’ll wish to join me and be my right-hand vampire. The power in you to be destructive is strong, and you won’t be able to deny your base needs.”

Poe wrenched his face away from Hastur’s touch and bit down hard on the bony finger close to his mouth. Poe ripped the bony joint from Hastur’s hand. The crunch of bones and the demonic howl of pain echoed across the room. Poe spat it out immediately, glaring at Hastur.

Hastur howled again and stepped back into the human Elijah. Confusion and chaos reigned as Elijah stared in horror at his bloody hand. Sawyer’s eyes grew large, and his incisors dropped at the scent of blood and gore.

“What the fuck? What the everloving fuck!” Elijah shouted, holding his hand up. Sawyer eyed him like a big juicy roast while Poe remained utterly still, his face blank as a canvas.

“What’s going on, Hakko?” Caden asked, appearing like a ghost from one of the dark hallways. He helped hold Poe up while Hakko snarled angrily at Elijah, who seemed confused at being abandoned by his demon-god.

“Hastur, obviously. We have to find help for Elijah, but I can’t leave the museum.” Hakko shoved Elijah unceremoniously toward Typhon. “He needs to get off this tract of land now. He attempted to take Poe, as well as the land, away from me again. I can’t have that.”

“Hakko, leave everything to me.” Typhon grew bigger and more formidable as he towered over the shell-shocked Elijah. More tentacles writhed on the ground as Typhon asserted dominance over Elijah. Hakko shuddered.

---