The Bone Road: Black Dragon, #2

By Danielle Linder

When Lia stumbled across Lucienn, the Black Dragon King in an alleyway outside a dance club, she had no intention of being caught up in any sort of quest. Now she's been dragged halfway across the Otherworld and back, narrowly avoided being eaten by eldritch horrors, and is having Feelings for the dragon.

 

What's worse, the dragon might actually be right about his brother, the Red Dragon, not being as much of a villain as everyone says. The problem lies in finding the Red Dragon, in order to talk him into not destroying the world. Not to mention avoiding the eldritch horrors that seem to have slipped into the universe while everyone was distracted. Eldritch horrors which, unfortunately, seem very interested in Lia, Lucienn, and their companions...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Draconum Audio & Imprint
• Release date: Jul 31, 2023
• ISBN: 9781922962089

Book preview

Previously

Lucienn pulled a compact cellphone out of his pocket and prodded at the screen, then sighed.

My brother is still unavailable, he said.

Unfortunate, said Judas. Unless there is someone else who could be considered the rightful holder of the Egg?

Doubtful, said Lucienn.

Lia crossed her arms and leaned back on the plate glass beside the door. So we’re back to square one, then. What now?

Not quite square one, we know where the Egg is now. We just can’t get it, said Lucienn. But neither can Red.

Assuming he hasn’t kidnapped the Aorin again, muttered Azarol, earning a startled look from Judas.

A magpie fluttered to the ground near them, and warbled a curious, musical note, then hopped closer.

Really? said Lia. Now?

the magpie hopped closer and pecked the ground at Lucienn's feet. Tapped the ground with its beak, at any rate, more a sort of knock than anything else. When Lucienn ignored it, the bird warbled again, and hopped closer until it was standing right next to his boot.

Lucienn sighed. Fine.

A magpie, which means it's probably from Tammuz, said Judas. What is the God of the Vine doing sending you notes, Lucienn?

The dragon knelt down and removed the message tied to the magpie's leg.

Let's find out. He unrolled the note and scanned it quickly, then again more slowly. Then he sighed. The Court would like an update.

And even if you don’t want to give them anything official, I’d love to know what you’ve been doing that has the otherworld so stirred up, said the magpie in Tammuz’ voice.

Melanie startled, then stared suspiciously at the bird, while Lia tried not to laugh.

It’s not all me, Bacchus, said Lucienn. Red is almost certainly in Rarohenga, and ley lines follow him like tame chickens. And Ory is out, now, too.

Oh excellent, said the magpie. It warbled with laughter and added, I’m going to need popcorn. And so much wine.

Have you heard from the Aorin? asked Judas.

Not since.. what is it now? Wednesday? Not since last week, said the magpie.

Which is when I spoke to him last as well, said Lucienn. Damn. We need to find him before we can retrieve the Egg.

But Red can’t get it either, said the magpie, I heard. I’ll tell the Helios that you’re working on it – but he’ll want some sort of progress report sooner or later.

Appreciated, said Judas, when Lucienn didn’t answer.

The magpie warbled again and chuckled to itself, So much wine.

Then it launched itself into the air with a flap of its wings, and flew away.

Lia watched the bird for a minute, making sure it had actually left, before she said, Right. What now?

After a long pause, Judas said, I.. may have an idea. You said you left the Luckstone on the Mountain?

I did, said Lucienn. But I specifically charmed it so that only a mortal who had no intention of using it could find it there.

Yes, said Judas with a slight grimace. Otherwise I would have found it. I've been walking up and down that thrice damned piece of ground for the last century, locked outside my own front door.

Lia looked at him curiously. You didn’t tell me that.

There was no point, said Judas, shrugging. And it’s not my proudest moment.

Azarol stared at him. How –?

He cut off the question as Lucienn gave him an aggressively neutral look, and swallowed.

Loopholes, said Judas. I was arrogant and stupid, but so was my opponent. And I’m more likeable than he is.

He must be a piece of work, then, said Azarol.

Lia snickered.

But you’re not mortal, and you would have used the stone, so you didn’t find it, said Melanie. So..?

I happen to have met a mortal, on the mountain. Ended up there quite by accident, said Judas. Kind enough to assist me. And the Mountain being the contrary bitch that she is, I’d be deeply surprised if he didn’t at least see the stone.

Hmm, said Lucienn. Can you find this mortal again?

Oh yes, said Judas, smiling. He owes me a favour. I can always find people if I have unfinished business with them. Besides – he’s local. There are reasons I have a doorway here.

Local, apparently, was meant quite literally. It was a ten minute walk at most from the Black School’s new doorway – which Lia suspected of fronting as a dance club, at least some of the time – to the apartment block where Judas expected to find the mortal he’d mentioned. It was one of the nicer ones, built as a hollow rectangle with a garden in the middle, complete with swimming pool and hot tubs, and doors into various stairwells and lobbies facing inwards.

I should move my door, said Lucienn quietly as they stood on the doorstep of one of the ground floor apartments. This is nice.

The fence is iron, said Lia.

I have gloves for that, said Lucienn. So it’s just another layer of defence, really.

The door opened, revealing a dark-haired young man with Asian features, wearing torn jeans and a T-shirt for something that Lia thought might be a band, or might be an anime series.

Ah. Hi, he said, then he glanced over his shoulder and called, Kaebi? I think it’s for you.

Another man padded over to the doorway, barefoot and relaxed, with emerald green painted finger- and toe-nails, and the horns of a full member of the Mora clans.

Hello Judas, he said. I see you brought friends.

Tokkaebi, said Judas. Well met. Might we come in?

Chapter 1: Out of the Blue

Hello, Judas, said Kaebi dryly, standing just inside the threshold and staring out past the open front door to where their visitors were standing.

Thomas glanced at him and raised an eyebrow, which Kaebi answered with a sigh and a slight shake of his head. Thomas shrugged and went to reclaim his cup of tea from the breakfast bar.

And I see you brought friends this time, said Kaebi flatly, still standing in the doorway. How delightful.

Tokkaebi, said Judas' silky, syrupy voice, although Thomas couldn't see him past Kaebi. Well met, as ever. Might we come in?

I don't know, said Kaebi, leaning against the doorframe. "Is this business, or a social call? I know my human didn't call you, so I assume you want something."

Can confirm, offered Thomas. I didn't call him. But you should probably let him in anyway.

Kaebi glanced in his direction with a raised eyebrow. Was that a request?

Just an opinion, said Thomas, grinning at him. No wishes here. Shall I make tea? Or is this going to be a conversation that needs alcohol?

Tea would be lovely, said one of Judas' companions, a tall, dark-haired man with yellow eyes. Definitely one of the critters, Thomas thought.

I'm leaning towards alcohol already, muttered Kaebi.

We apologise for - well, showing up unannounced? said the man with the yellow eyes. Judas said you might be able to help me.

Definitely business then, said Kaebi, sighing.

Judas grinned in the doorway, which was still creepy even if he wasn't currently a unicorn, and said, Would you rather I dropped in for social calls, Tokkaebi?

Thomas chuckled quietly to himself at the thought. The Master of the Black School, dropping in for tea and cake.

Not really, said Kaebi. You keep trying to seduce my humans. Still. Business usually means problems. How bad is it?

Bad, said Judas quietly. Not something to discuss on the doorstep. Dragon storms are the least of it.

I suppose you'd better come in, then, said Kaebi with a heavy sigh. All of you. And tell us what the punchline is when the joke starts with two accubae, a vampire, a dragon and a construct.

Everyone paused, frozen in place for a second, which left half the group part-way through the door and all of them looking at Kaebi with varying degrees of interest and shock.

What are accubae? asked Thomas.

The yellow-eyed man belatedly stepped over the threshold and said, That's the subject of a great deal of debate; Judas says incubus, Lia says muse.

Behind him, Judas smirked, and it was just as disturbingly almost-charming-but-not as it had been the first time they'd met. He was followed inside by a girl wearing one sandal, with her other foot bare, another man - who reminded Thomas of Sebastian, the vampire who had taken on the role of being Judas' club manager for the Black School - and, implausibly, Lia. Lia, who he hadn't seen in three years, since the working holiday he'd spent bartending in London.

Lia! he said, What are you doing here?

Thomas? Her eyes snapped to him and she grinned. "You're involved with one of the Mora?"

Mora? said Thomas. You mean Kaebi?

The one with the horns? said Lia. And the green fingernails? Yes. Him. Mora. I suppose you are the sort to attract goblins.

Kaebi sighed again. This is going to be interesting.

Isn't it, said Judas. Does everyone in this ridiculously small town know everyone else here?

Not literally everyone, said Thomas, at the same time that Lia said, Where exactly are we, anyway?

Thomas gave her a funny look and said, Where do you think we are, Dorothy? Kansas? It's definitely not London.

"We're in Australia? Lia turned to the yellow-eyed man with an aggrieved look. Why? Do you have any idea how many types of spider live here?"

The yellow-eyed man shrugged. This is where Tal called me when he wanted to meet up, and also apparently where Az and his nest-queen brought Red through.

Wait, wait, who did what now? asked Kaebi. Please tell me that we're not talking about the Red Dragon?

Does anyone actually want tea? asked Thomas.

Yes, please, said Lia, and the other girl nodded as well.

Do you have coffee? asked the probably-a-vampire, looking so hopeful that Thomas felt sorry for him, "We've been underhill for days. In the middle of nowhere."

I can do coffee, said Thomas.

Unfortunately, yes, my brother, said the man with yellow eyes, Or fortunately. I don't know yet. The Aokin has found his way back from Gehenna with the aid of one of the local Formori nests. He is, apparently, collecting the Tarrasque, and the Court have asked me to stop him.

And you agreed, said Kaebi. "Why not? Family feuds are always such fun. So. Not just dragon storms then."

He looked at Judas, who shrugged, unapologetic.

Who else is involved, then? asked Kaebi. I assume at least some of this is common knowledge, so there will be plays being made on all sides. And forgive the question, but which clans are we talking about? I don't believe I've met your companion, Judas.

By this time, I think we can safely say that all of the dragon clans are involved, said Judas, but specifically? Tokkaebi, this is Lucienn, the Black Dragon King, called the Aoshin and Opener of Ways. Lucienn, the Tokkaebi.

Kaebi rubbed one hand over his face and sighed again.

Judas' lip twitched, just a little, as if he was suppressing laughter, and he said, I would say that I'm sorry about this, but I'm really not.

Yes, I see that, said Kaebi. "Good. Wonderful. Lovely to finally meet you, Aoshin, although I can't say it was in my plan for the day. You may call me Kaebi. Judas, why exactly have you brought the Black Dragon to my house? This is definitely an alcohol conversation."

Kaebi snapped his fingers, summoning a martini glass full of something clear and almost certainly alcoholic into his hand out of nowhere, drained it in one swallow, then put the glass down.

Thomas moved into the kitchen area, separated from the living room by a breakfast bar, to put the kettle on and get out cups and tea and coffee.

He asked, Does anyone take milk?

Yes, please, said the girl with only one shoe.

And for me, said the vampire. Probably a vampire. He had the same dark eyes as Sebastian, although Sebastian didn't have earrings, and this one did, several of them, gold glinting in both earlobes.

Lia shook her head. No, I'm with your Mora friend on this one, this is an alcohol conversation. How much do you know?

About the crit- I mean, about.. magic? asked Thomas.

Lia nodded.

Well, a vampire tried to eat me a few months ago. And my - our - girlfriend. And did something so I started changing into one of them. Judas helped me out with the changeling thing, although he was a unicorn when I met him. And, I mean, I live with Kaebi now. So.. a bit?

He poured hot water into a teapot, and added tea leaves to the strainer to infuse, then spooned instant coffee into a mug and added hot water for the vampire with the earrings.

Just the one coffee? Thomas confirmed.

Kaebi waved a distracted hand, and no one else responded, so he assumed that was a yes. He offered the coffee to earring guy, and put milk and sugar on the counter for him.

Thank you, said earring guy, adding a ridiculous amount of sugar and a healthy splash of milk to his coffee. You're my favourite so far.

Uh, thanks, I guess, said Thomas. You can't collect me, though. There's a queue already, apparently, and Kaebi got dibs. Also, I'm assuming, but - really not into vampires. Even Sebastian hasn't managed to convince me, and he has tried.

Earring guy laughed. Good to know, but I'm not collecting anyone, thanks. I'm Azarol; you know Lia, clearly, and Judas. This is Melanie, and that's Lucienn. Since no one else seems to have any manners.

Thomas, said Thomas.

Don't tell them your name, darling, said Kaebi.

Full name, said Thomas. True name. Whatever. I didn't. Are you having tea?

We are all having tea - or coffee, said Kaebi. I think hosting the Black Dragon King and the Master of the Black School calls for a touch of formality.

Sure, said Thomas easily, and started pouring tea.

Azarol slouched against the wall behind the sofa, drinking his coffee.

When Kaebi raised an eyebrow at him, he raised the coffee in a casual sort of toast and said, Yes, whatever. Host-right, guest-right, acknowledged and so forth. I'm here with him, anyway.

Thomas smothered a grin behind his hand as Azarol tilted his chin at Judas and the yellow-eyed man - Lucienn, Thomas thought, remembering the quick introductions. Lucienn, Azarol, and Melanie. And Judas, and Lia, obviously.

At the small dining table, Kaebi re-filled his martini glass from a pitcher that hadn't been on the table a moment earlier and took a sip. Then he handed the glass to Lucienn.

The Lost are bound just as much by the laws of hospitality as the rest of us, he said. In case that is relevant.

It's not. Lucienn lifted the glass in a salute then sipped and passed it back, maintaining eye contact with Kaebi all the while. As he handed it over, he said, I am more than happy to accept a guest-cup, Tokkaebi, but did it have to be straight gin?

Kaebi grinned and sipped again before handing the glass to Judas. It didn't have to be, but it seemed like a martini kind of meeting, and I don't care for vermouth.

Judas sighed and sipped from the glass, then handed it back.

Lianan, said Kaebi, and handed the glass to her after sipping from it again.

Lia drank half the glass and handed it back. Alright, done. Can we move on to why you thought the Tokkaebi could help us, Judas?

Not quite, said Kaebi. He took the glass back, took yet another sip, and handed it to Melanie.

Melanie glanced at Lia, who turned a puzzled expression on Kaebi. She looked at Lucienn, then at Kaebi, and said, I assume I'm meant to take a sip and give it back?

Exactly so, love, said Azarol. Guest-cup binds us all to be nice to one another. Something like that, at least. It doesn't have any hold on mortals, it's just a courtesy, but our lot actually have to abide by the rules of hospitality.

Thomas saw the minute frown that crossed Kaebi's brow, and the expressive but difficult to interpret eye contact between Judas and Azarol, but he wasn't sure what to make of it.

Okay, said Melanie, and took a sip of the gin.

She handed the glass back to Kaebi, who took it thoughtfully and drank the last mouthful of gin from it before he said, "Now, we can get to why Judas thought I could help you. And what he thinks I should be helping you with."

Actually, I thought Thomas might be able to help us, said Judas.

Kaebi looked surprised for a second, then his blank 'negotiating' expression slid back onto his face. It was the same one he wore to play cards. Thomas sighed and poured himself a cup of tea.

How so? Kaebi asked.

Judas raised a querying eyebrow at Lucienn, who nodded, then said, The Luckstone.

Is lost, along with the rest of the Tarrasque, said Kaebi.

About that, said Lia, It looks like most of them are not as lost as one might have hoped.

Unfortunate, said Kaebi. "The lot of them should have been melted down and poured back into the Otherworld's bedrock. But I fail to see how this affects me or Thomas."

"The Luckstone was lost, said Judas. He looked at Thomas and said, But I don't think it is anymore. I think you picked it up on the mountain, where you met me."

Thomas glanced at Kaebi, whose blank face gave him nothing, then at Judas. He said, Okay, what is this Luckstone, and why is it important?

The Luckstone is one of the Tarrasque, said Lucienn.

Magic items, said Melanie in a quiet aside. Semi-sentient, definitely OP. He doesn't explain them well. It's a dragon thing.

A dragon thing, repeated Thomas. Alright. Sure. I guess dragons are bad at explanations? What does it look like? And why do you think I have it?

And if he did have it, why would he give it away? asked Kaebi.

It's a cube, like a die, but unmarked, said Lucienn. Made of stone, or sometimes glass. Black. And, for the record, dragons are not inherently bad at explanations.

Sure, said Thomas. And you figure I have it because..?

For reasons that probably made sense at the time, Luci left it on the mountain, enchanted so that only a mortal who wasn't looking for it and had no intention of using it would be able to find it, said Judas. You're the first to match those criteria.

Luci, said Kaebi, stifling a smirk.

Lucienn sighed. I suppose you might as well. We're all friends, here, after all.

Thomas is the first mortal the climb the mountain in a thousand years? said Lia.

Judas shrugged. Technically, his friend was the first, but she's too wary of us to pick up a random rock along the way and hold onto it. Believe it or not, there aren't many who take the long way around, and fewer still who are entirely mortal.

Right, said Thomas.

He fingered the stone in his pocket. It was always in his pocket, although he reliably left it in the pocket of whichever trousers he was wearing the day before, or on the bedside table with his keys and wallet and the collection of other detritus that built up in his pockets. He hadn't really thought about it. Which, on contemplation, was a little odd.

"So, assume that I did pick it up, and I do have it, said Thomas, Then what?"

You give it to Lucienn, said Judas, And we leave you two to the rest of your morning.

These are the sorts of things you should really tell me, said Kaebi.

Sorry, said Thomas. It didn't seem important.

It does that, said Lucienn.

What exactly does it do? asked Thomas. Other than find its way into my pocket, and be unusually unobtrusive for a magic thing?

It enhances my magic, said Lucienn, And it'll let me find the others.

None of them said anything for a second, then Kaebi said, Why are you looking for the others, Luci? The stone, I understand, but the rest?

Lucienn sighed and said, The only way to stop Red from collecting them is to do it myself, first. The Luckstone was always mine, it would help.

Kaebi nodded. I'm sure it would, although I don't know that you collecting the set is any better than the Aokin doing it.

Nor do I, for the record, said Azarol, Although he is arguably less inclined towards mass murder than the Aokin.

I'm here asking nicely, said Lucienn. Red wouldn't be nearly so polite, even if he is in his right mind.

Ah, said Kaebi. So it's going to be a proper family feud then. Who else has stuck their fingers into this mess, Judas? Yourself, obviously. The Court.

Kernan, peripherally, said Lucienn. The new Aorin. A few others.

A sudden gust of wind rattled the windows, and Judas looked up sharply.

How-? he said, cutting himself off before he finished.

What is it? asked Lia.

"The daitengu, and a selection of tiangu and shadows with them, said Judas. Not here yet, but gathering."

Fuck, not again, said Thomas and dashed into the bedroom to grab the critter bugout bag that Kaebi laughed at him for keeping packed and ready to hand in the corner of the room.

He rushed back into the living room to find everyone else still sitting there.

Gabriel hounds? Or is this some other weird critter nonsense? he asked.

Something scratched at the window, and Thomas whipped his head around to look. There was nothing there.

Basically the same, but it isn't the Hunt this time, said Kaebi. The wards and threshold should keep them out.

The scratching sound came again, this time from the study.

Are you sure? asked Thomas. We had to go and rescue Alex when they came for her.

Quite sure, said Kaebi.

A loud bang echoed through the building, and the neighbour's fire alarm went off. Thomas gave Kaebi a dubious look.

Mostly sure, said Kaebi. "How many daitengu?"

Five, said Azarol. And one of the Lost.

"The last time we saw any sign of