Free Dragonswan.doc by Unknown

die
    or survive as he saw fit.
    He'd crawled from the pit and somehow found his way into the woods, where he'd
    lain for days floating in and out of consciousness. To this day, he wasn't sure how
    he'd survived it.
    "Bas!" Damos snapped, wincing from the effort as he pushed himself slowly to his
    feet. He staggered, and against his will, Sebastian found himself helping his
    brother to the well where he propped him.
    Damos's long reddish-brown hair was lank and clotted with blood and snarls. His
    face was battered and his clothes torn. "You look like hell."
    "Yeah, well, it's hard to look good when you're being tortured."
    Sebastian knew that firsthand. "You escaped?"
    He nodded. "Where's the tapestry?"
    "It's safe."
    Damos locked gazes with him. "Were you really going to trade it for me?"
    "I brought it here, didn't I?"
    Tears gathered in Damos's eyes as he looked at him. "I am so sorry for what I did to
    you."
    Sebastian was stunned. So, Damos did know what an apology was.
    "The Katagaria told me what happened that day, how they tricked you." Damos
    placed his hand against the scar on Sebastian's neck that Sebastian had received
    while trying to save Antiphone's life. "I can't believe you survived them. And I can't
    believe you did this for me."
    "Not like I had anything better to do."
    Damos hissed and placed his hand to his eyes. "Those damned feelers. They're
    trying to find me."
    Sebastian went cold. Without his powers, he couldn't sense the feelers, but if they
    were sending them out for Damos, then they would find...
    Channon!
    His heart pounding, he ran for the hall.
    Channon wished she had her notepad to take notes on everything she saw. This
    was just incredible!
    Enchanted, she walked idly past the stalls and huts, looking inside to see families
    eating and spending the evening together.
    "You look lost."
    She turned at the voice behind her. There were three men there, handsome all and
    quite tall. "Not lost," she offered. "Just out for a bit of fresh air."
    The blond man appeared to be the leader of the small group. "You know, that can
    be quite dangerous for a woman alone."
    Channon frowned as a wave of panic washed over her. "I beg your pardon?"
    "Tell me, Acmenes." The blonde spoke to the tall brunette beside him. "Why do
    you think an Arcadian would bring a human woman through time?"
    Panic gone, sheer terror set in, especially since the man was speaking in modern
    English.
    She tried to head back to Sebastian, but of the third man caught her. He grabbed
    her right hand and showed it to his friends. "Because she's his mate."
    The one called Acmenes laughed. "How precious is this? An Arcadian with a
    human dragonswan."
    "No," the brunette said, "it's better. A lone Sentinel with a human mate."
    They laughed cruelly.
    Channon glared. She might look harmless, but she'd been on her own for quite
    some time, and as a woman alone, she'd learned a few things.
    Tae Kwon Do was one of them. She caught the man holding her with her elbow
    and twisted out of his grasp. Before the others could reach her, she ran for the hall.
    Unfortunately, the Katagaria moved a lot faster than she did and they grabbed her
    before she could reach it.
    "Let her go." Sebastian's voice rolled across the yard like dangerous thunder as he
    unsheathed his sword.
    "Oh no," Acmenes said sarcastically. "This is the best of all. A Sentinel who has
    lost his powers."
    Channon's heart clenched at their words.
    Sebastian's smile was taunting, wicked. "I don't need my powers to defeat you."
    Before she could blink, the Katagaria attacked Sebastian.
    "Run, Channon," Sebastian said as he delivered a staggering blow to the first one
    who reached him.
    Channon didn't go far. She couldn't leave him to fight the men alone. Not that he
    appeared to need any help. She watched as they attacked him at once and he deftly
    knocked them back.
    "Um, Acmenes," the youngest Katagari said as he picked himself up from the
    ground and panted. "He's kicking our