Entwined With the Dark Read Online Free Page B

It was feared he brought the plague and in order to appease the Dragon, the town's people sacrificed two sheep a day to him. And when the sheep failed, they fed their children, chosen by lottery." I cringed. Not exactly a pleasant bedtime story this one. Marie went on, unaffected by my grimace. "The King's daughter was called forth in the lottery and the King distraught at the thought of losing her, told the people they could have all of his gold and riches if they spared his daughter. They refused. The daughter was sent out to the lake and fed to the Dragon."
    I was hoping there would be a happy ending to this story and for the life of me, I couldn't understand why Marie was going to such trouble to explain it to me. It was interesting, sure, and  legends can have their origins rooted in history sometimes, but still. The light turned green and Marie hit the accelerator as though her life depended on it. The door handle became my best friend.
    "St. George happened to be riding past the lake, when the Dragon became incensed at his interruption to his meal and reared back to attack. St. George charged on his horse and pierced the Dragon with his lance. He then used the princess's girdle to trap the Dragon and both he and the girl led the now docile dragon back to the town.
    "The people were terrified, but St. George promised them, if they all converted to Christianity, he would slay the Dragon. Of course they did and the Dragon was slayed."
    OK, kind of a happy ending, if you weren't the dragon. "What's this got to do with Sebastian?" I asked, still totally dumbfounded.
    "The Dragon was his grandfather," Marie replied, pulling up outside Michel's house in South Kensington.
    I turned in my seat and stared at the little, demure woman sitting next to me. Marie looked like any girl next door. Sweet and innocent, short brown, no-nonsense hair, hazel eyes and of medium height and slim build. Her uniform was always jeans, sweatshirt and tennis shoes. Comfort was her goal, not fashion. Even now, with just the two of us in her ratty old car, she still tried to hide, blend in to the surroundings. Her clothes were just as dishevelled as the car. Marie was recently joined to a  wealthy master vampire, but determined not to take a penny. It was definitely something I admired about the angst ridden hunter. I hadn't met Kenneth yet, but he ran an antiques business, one which was quite successful from all accounts.
    "Wow! Sebastian must be old." It was all I could think of to say.
    Marie sighed. "He is. He's also very powerful and has never forgotten what St. George did. When St. George was chosen as the patron saint of England, Sebastian brought his Teaghlach , his pack, here. He chose Scotland and entrenched the family in Scottish life. They gave up all that was their past and embraced their new land. Arthur thinks Sebastian is biding his time to seek revenge."
    "Revenge? On whom? St. George doesn't actually exist."
    "To the English, he does and always will. Arthur thinks Sebastian will take his vengeance out on us."
    "And how long has he been here? Don't you think he would have done this by now if it was his plan. He probably just wanted to make a new start in life, forget the pain of his past. You know, green pastures and all that," I offered.
    Marie let a little huff of a laugh out. "Yeah, that's pretty much what I think too. He's not all bad, Sebastian that is. Arthur has made me the liaison to the local shifter Teaghlach . I have a lot to do with them. With him." She looked down at her hands in her lap, another small blush gracing her cheeks.
    "He seems to like you," I said, smiling. She reddened further.
    "He's a tease. He knows I'm not good with that kind of attention. He plays a game to make me imbalanced."
    I sat silently for a moment and glanced out the window. I wanted to offer some sort of encouragement, bolster Marie up by telling her she could be anything she wanted, if she just believed. But my attention was taken by the fact