Handlers of Dragons (Children of Ankh Book 4) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Handlers of | Dragons | Kim Cormack

  Dedications

  Acknowledgments

  Biography

  A Message to my Readers

  Behind the Series

  Chapter 1...Continental Divide

  Chapter 1 | Continental Divide

  Chapter 2 | Mortal Bonds

  Chapter 3 | Inconvenient Emotions

  Chapter 4 | Whisky Was the Devil

  Chapter 5 | Dragon Daddy Issues

  Chapter 6 | Let the Dragon Games Begin

  Chapter 7 | Boyfriends and Lycanthropes

  Chapter 8 | Impermeable Hearts

  Chapter 9 | Kevin of Triad

  Chapter 10 | Alcohol Versus Fire

  Chapter 11 | Dirty Deeds

  Chapter 12 | Sharks Versus Cannibals

  Chapter 13 | This One Time in Seattle

  Chapter 14 | As You Are

  Handlers of

  Dragons

  Kim Cormack

  Copyright © 2017 Kim Cormack.

  All rights reserved

  Mythomedia Press 2754

  10th Ave V9Y 2N9 Port Alberni, B.C

  OTHER TITLES IN THIS Series

  Sweet Sleep

  Enlightenment

  Let There Be Dragons

  Handlers of Dragons

  Wild Thing

  Wicked Thing

  Bring Out Your Dead

  Dedications

  While writing this book our family suffered the heartbreaking loss of its guiding light. Nana Scott was a truly special woman with a feisty spirit, a spectacular sense of humour and a heart of gold. For us, most days began with an early morning visit to Nana’s house where we’d have coffee and make her breakfast before Cam went to school. There’s an empty space in our lives now. With a steady ache in our hearts we bring everything she taught us along on our journey. Till we meet again, Nana.

  Acknowledgments

  I HAVE BEEN TRULY BLESSED to have some incredible friends and family in my life. To my parents and children, thank you for your unwavering support of my dreams.

  Love to Haley McGee and Leanne Ruissen for being my awesome talented editing support system. You ladies always find everything I miss. Love you both. Auntie Faye, thank you for always being my biggest fan. Your journey with cancer shows us all what true strength of spirit is...You are an inspiration to us all. XO

  Biography

  KIM CORMACK IS THE always comedic author of the darkly twisted epic paranormal romance series, "The Children of Ankh." She worked for over 16 years as an Early Childhood educator in preschool, daycare, and as an aid. She has M.S and has lived most of her life on Vancouver Island in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. She currently lives in the gorgeous little town of Port Alberni. She's a single mom with two awesome kids. One in university and the other in grade 7.

  A Message to my Readers

  THANK YOU FOR BEING super patient with me. Stress and M.S do not mix. This year has been the stress Olympics. I’m busy writing book three in Lexy’s series. I hope you enjoy the fourth book in Kayn’s series. Love to you all. Happy Reading. XOXO

  Behind the Series

  ONE THOUSAND YEARS ago, procreation with mortals became illegal under the immortal law. Any suspected immortal offspring will be allowed to live until the age of sixteen. At this time, a Correction will be sent to erase their family line. The suspected immortal and their immediate family will be executed. If the partially immortal teen manages to survive their Correction, or they have impressed the Guardians of the in-between with their bravery, they may be granted a second chance as a sacrificial lamb for the greater good. They must join one of three clans of immortals living on earth. Clan Ankh, Clan Trinity or Clan Triad. They will then have the symbol of that clan branded into their flesh and with this mark, their souls will no longer be permitted through the hall of souls when they die. They must wait in the in-between for their clans to heal their mortal shells. Once they have reached the age of eighteen they will be sealed to their clan. The next step is to train their partially mortal brains to survive the stresses of immortality. The next feat will be the immortal Testing where they will be dropped into a floating crypt the size of New York City. This Testing is fuelled by your worst nightmares. It is a place of magic. A personal hell, where anything can happen. Here you must die a thousand times if need be, in increasingly violent ways until you understand what it is to be immortal. All three Clans go into the Testing. They must remain together and search for the Amber room to survive. There is a catch...only the first two clans that find the Amber room will be allowed out. The third clan will remain trapped in the nightmare forever...

  Kayn survived the Testing along with Zach and Melody. She is now Clan Ankh’s second Dragon. She’s been emotionally stunted by the violence she’s endured. Zach has become her Handler. He is her voice of reason in the emotionless void. Frost and Kayn are now together but the pull to her past is confusingly strong.

  Chapter 1...Continental Divide

  CHAPTER 2...MORTAL Bonds

  Chapter 3...Inconvenient Emotions

  Chapter 4...Whisky Was the Devil

  Chapter 5...Dragon Daddy Issues

  Chapter 6...Let the Dragon Games Begin

  Chapter 7...Boyfriends and Lycanthropes

  Chapter 8...Impermeable Hearts

  Chapter 9...Kevin of Triad

  Chapter 10...Alcohol Versus Fire

  Chapter 11...Dirty Deeds

  Chapter 12...Sharks Versus Cannibals

  Chapter 13...This One Time in Seattle

  Chapter 14...As You Are

  Chapter 1

  Continental Divide

  THE MUSICAL SYMPHONY of exotic birds had Kayn mesmerized. Each step she took through the overgrown brush brought her closer to the next chapter of her story. She ducked while maneuvering under a low hanging branch. The colourful toucan perched there didn’t flutter a wing; it remained in place as a steadfast reminder of a love that had dissolved into nothing but memories. Thoughts of the jungle in the Testing instantly brought her back to purple flowers, heartbreaking goodbyes and the devastating events of soon thereafter. Even a momentary thought of her mortal ties still made her want to succumb to the hollow numbness of her Dragon ability. She felt the pressure of Zach’s hand squeezing hers. He’d probably been listening to her thoughts. Kayn returned her Handler’s gesture and swallowed her emotions down as she always did. He didn’t want her to make his day more difficult. She closed her eyes, allowing her Handler to lead her blindly into the unknown. Zach yanked on her hand. Kayn was instantly brought back to the here and now. Markus was brushing away the foliage on what appeared to be a small animal’s burrow. The ground opened, revealing stairs that descended into darkness, much like the Ankh crypt in British Columbia. As they followed their leader into the shadows, it felt like a symbolic representation of her life. Zach took her hand again as they reached the bottom of the stairs and she felt the strength of their spiritual tether. It had taken a while but it was now a certainty. Markus was fumbling around cursing. He was probably regretting leaving their fire starter Grey behind. Markus swore again, while undoubtedly searching for something to light the torches. She’d absorbed Grey’s gift back in that town full of demons but hadn’t attempted to use it since and didn’t know if she could. Just when she was about to offer it up as an option the light began flickering from a torch and the five newest Ankh got their first look at the crypt. It was identical to the last one she’d been in, with ornate tapestries hanging on the walls representing the story of their clan.

  Zach paused in front of the one with the Brother’s of Prophecy and the girl th
at they all knew was Lily. He nudged her and teased, “Your boyfriend is super old...absolutely ancient.”

  While fighting the urge to touch the carving, Kayn remarked, “He is, isn’t he?”

  Markus marched down the corridor ahead, lighting each torch with the flames of the first. They stepped away from the tapestry, leaving inconsequential things behind and caught up with the rest just as Markus placed his hands against the stone. He stepped through the solid wall at the end of the hall, without saying a word. They’d done this before so none of them gave it a second thought as they followed him into the unknown. They stepped out to find themselves in a minimalistic white room. This was different.

  Markus commanded, “Quickly please.”

  They followed his lead as he strolled right through another wall into a lab, startling the people working there. An attractive statuesque Asian lady, wearing a lab coat embraced Markus as though they were old friends. She continued to animatedly chat him up, as she led them down a long dimly lit corridor and up an unusually steep flight of stairs into another sparsely decorated room. Where were they? The large plaque they’d passed on the stairs had read, ‘The Aries Group.’ It made sense, but she still had questions. She could faintly hear the hustle and bustle of a busy street...and easily identifiable music through the walls. Were they in the Middle East?

  The five survivors of the Testing were ushered through what appeared to be the kitchen of a busy restaurant where the employees barely gave six strangers a second look and out of a door into the sweltering heat to a couple of black jeeps with tinted windows.

  Markus stopped talking to the lady who hadn’t acknowledged their presence long enough to say, “What are you waiting for? Get in. Three per vehicle.”

  Kayn and Zach climbed into one with Astrid as Melody and Haley got into the other.

  Zach leaned in and whispered, “We’re not in Kansas anymore.”

  No, they definitely weren’t. The front door of their vehicle slammed but they couldn’t see the driver through the barrier. The engine started and they took off like they were racing in the Indie 500. Their surroundings whirled by in a blur as they weaved through traffic. Obviously, road safety was not a thing here.

  They’d been driving in silence for a while when the barrier between them rolled down and the driver announced with an accent, “Do what you are told.”

  They slowed down as they pulled into a luxurious walled desert compound with flourishing vegetation. Intrigued by the lack of explanation, Kayn used humour to stifle her nervous energy. She glanced at Zach and teased, “I’ve already been the virgin sacrifice once this year, so it’s your turn.”

  Her Handler teased, “I’m quite confident there are no virgins left in this group.”

  They got out of the vehicles and were quickly escorted into the building. Markus didn’t come. Once again, Markus had tossed them into the deep end with no idea what they were doing.

  A dark featured, extremely handsome man with a warm inviting smile addressed the group in perfect English, “My name is Amar. I’m not sure how much Markus has explained to you but we have a group of four set to go into the Testing. We were hoping you five would join the festivities this evening to represent your continent.”

  Wasn’t the Testing every five years?

  Amar answered Kayn’s thoughts, “Your continent’s Testing is roughly every five years. Our Testing is every two. We have a much larger more disciplined population to work with. Tomorrow our elders head out to the Summit and our untested Ankh will be left in this compound for the next week alone. Don’t panic, Markus and some of the others you know will be in attendance this evening. We have a few issues that need to be dealt with beforehand.”

  Even though Kayn was wearing shorts and a tank top with her bikini underneath, she felt quite naked as she noted a few mortified expressions. Markus could have told them to put on more clothing.

  As Amar led them down the long ornate hallway, he announced, “But first things first. You can’t be walking around dressed as you are.” He escorted each of them to a suite and politely urged them to remain there until they were brought something appropriate to wear.

  The room reminded her of the King’s suite from virgin sacrifice night. Kayn felt like she was in a safe place but suspected she’d always feel that way now, knowing she was part Guardian. She didn’t feel a speck stronger. Truth be told, she hadn’t had the time to figure out how she felt about the surprise paternity announcement. A blonde woman in a business suit rather abruptly barged into the room pushing a rolling rack of dresses. She asked her to pick her poison with a classy sounding British accent. If this continent had a separate Testing, why had Leanne from Trinity gone in with their group? She was British.

  The lady giggled as she responded to her thoughts, “She must have been Corrected while on vacation. It happens...” She snatched a dress off the rack, passed it to her and declared, “This will look gorgeous on you. Change quickly.”

  It took a bit to figure out how to put the dress on with its multiple floating layers of lavender silk but she did. Kayn felt like the princess from Abaddon as she wandered out onto the balcony overlooking the flourishing courtyard. In the distance, over the walls was an endless untouched looking desert. Sweat moistened her brow. She wiped it off with the back of her hand. In the heat, the modest layers of floating lavender silk clung sensually to her curves. For the first time, she became aware of the seductive power of subtle femininity. She felt beautiful, almost more so than she had in gowns that left far less to the imagination. Everything about this place was foreign feeling, yet amazing. Hopefully, Frost would be joining her later. He’d taken her paternity announcement in stride. She’d been blissfully sleeping in his arms when she was awoken by Markus’s light rapping on the door in the wee hours of the morning. He rounded up the five latest survivors of the Testing, urged them into the truck and assured them that the others would be joining them later. She’d left Frost this morning without a word. They’d been having so much fun together it was going to suck if they separated them again for months with no warning. She heard footsteps and turned around. It was Amar.

  He grinned his approval as he asked, “We were told of the training Lexy put you through before your group entered the Testing. Do you think you might be willing to go on a quick before dinner jaunt to the in-between with mine to give them a similar Dragon experience?”

  Kayn glanced down at what she was wearing, shrugged and replied, “Why not?” Without another word, she followed Amar down a long extravagantly decorated hallway. They met up with the others in front of a doorway with a large Ankh symbol carved into the stone. Amar pressed his hand against the door and it opened as though by magic. The five strolled past their host into the room. Before them stood three large Ankh tombs, similar to those found in crypts on North American soil. It hadn’t occurred to her that there was more going on with her clan than what she’d already seen. Why hadn’t she assumed there would be clan on other continents? They wandered over to the tombs. Zach touched one, mesmerized by its ornate engravings. It opened and he abruptly stepped away. Zach’s body language suggested he wasn’t a hundred percent on board but she was rather stoked at the prospect of going full Lexy on the group of international newbies that she had no emotional attachment to. It was freeing to allow her inner Dragon to come out to play.

  “Well? What are you waiting for?” Amar teased.

  This was going to be fun. Kayn shrugged as she got in. Zach climbed in with her. Astrid, Melody and Haley got into the tomb beside them. As the stone ground shut above her, Kayn grinned, eagerly anticipating what came next.

  Their eyes met, and Zach whispered, “You are totally ready to rumble, aren’t you?”

  Kayn giggled as she answered, “So ready.” Their tomb shifted. As it locked to the tomb next to it, brilliant light exploded and began its rhythmic strobing. She squinted for a second in the blinding glare of the rose quartz before closing her eyes. They’d traveled to the in-between on co
untless occasions but she was always excited in the moments before they left the land of the living. The tomb began to strobe at an even pace and then came the familiar humming sound. In her mind, Kayn counted down, 3, 2, 1...They were catapulted up at a stomach churning velocity. Zach released his inner Grey by hooting as the tomb began spinning like a vomit inducing carnival ride. It paused for a second. She knew what came next. Her stomach lurched as they began spiralling downwards on their descent into the in-between. In what felt like moments, they were rid of the confines of their rose quartz tombs, free falling with the sensation of cool moist wind against their flesh. Her senses soared with elation as she plummeted through the clouds and caught sight of the clean slated desert below. All five landed side by side like gods in the warm inviting sand.

  Kayn gazed up at the multihued blues of the sky above. The beauty of this place never ceased to be anything short of miraculous.

  Mel ran her fingers through her hair as she uttered under her breath, “It would have been nice to meet these people before going on the offensive.”

  The group began debating about what they were going to do. Kayn wandered away. This place held the answers to so many questions. She was part Guardian but what did that mean? While standing in her barely there, goddess-like attire, she felt different. Had her role changed? She didn’t want that. If only Lexy were here with her. She hadn’t had enough time with her surprise sibling before they’d parted ways. Would she be there for the banquet?

  Zach caught up to her and enquired, “Where do you think you’re going?”

  Kayn stopped walking. She wasn’t supposed to leave his side but it felt like the rules of old might be irrelevant now. Kayn faced her Handler as she gave her response, “I was just thinking about everything that happened last night.”