Depth (Apalala Clan Book 2)

by Dzintra Sullivan

  “You just like saying the words dirty blonde.” Ladon smirked as he looked around. Finding the stairwell, he pushed open the door and made his way up.

  “You know me well, brother.” Jo followed him and started to climb.

  Slowly, they opened the top floor’s door and walked out. Keeping their wits about them as they made their way to the left, the black and white carpet looked like a checkerboard. They read each door nameplates as they passed by. The hallway was long and apart from some small security lights, was dark and empty.

  “Look…” Ladon pointed to the door, his eyes flicking between the end of the hallway and the second last door in front of where he stood. “That’s a name we know.”

  Jo looked up. “Ms. Cinders. CEO, Tokyo Disney” The words crept off his tongue. “Yup, Cinders, that name was on the papers from Vern.”

  “Talking to Q?” Ladon asked.

  Thinking for a second, Jo shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. There was definitely a connection, but I don’t think it was a direct one-on-one conversation between the two of them.”

  “So, that’s a no?” Ladon snorted at the long answer Jo had given him.

  “Fuck you, Ladon, you either want me to pay attention or be the bait?” He gave his brother the finger.

  “Haven’t decided.” Ladon shrugged as she opened the office door. He walked over and took a seat behind the desk. There were papers strewn over the tabletop in what looked like organized chaos. Ladon started lifting papers and reading them. Despite the low lighting, dragon eyes were exceptional at adapting to their environment.

  Jo walked over to the standing file cabinet in the corner which had three large drawers. Jo saw they were all locked as he moved past it over to the open bookcase. Running his fingertip across a number of book spines, he checked out her choice of reading material. A few romances, self-help books, nothing that stood out as strange. The second shelf held park programs, maintenance folders, emergency plans and the like. Jo looked over at his brother, and his eye caught up on the wall by a picture. Hanging above Ms. Cinder’s desk was a huge painting of a bird. The wings were coated in dripping paint like it was melting into the awaiting open air below it. The hues sat in blues, purples, and greens. If you took out the fact it was a bird, Jo thought it looked awesome. Stepping forward, he read the words written below, ‘You don’t need wings to fly.’ Jo shrugged with an odd understanding, although he countered that wings certainly helped.

  “Taryn Miles,” Ladon murmured as he picked up a heavy file. Placing it in front of him, and glancing at his brother, he started to open to the red folder.

  “A file on her? I guess that’s not unusual, she does work here after all,” Jo said as he took a seat opposite him, swinging his boots up and landing heavily on the desk.

  “The part that would concern me is this…” Ladon held up the front page that said in bold red letters which were a warning.

  MUST NEVER BE IN IMAGES. IDENTITY PROTECTION ENFORCED.

  “Identity protection?” Jo quizzed. “How can one expect to have her identity protected when you’re fucking working in the happiest place on Earth? One of the biggest tourist attractions in the world… as a meet and greet character, no less.”

  Ladon shrugged. “I guess hiding in plain sight might work. My question is if her identity is being protected…” Ladon flicked a few pieces of paper, “… is she actually Taryn Miles? By birth name, I mean.”

  “Who the fuck kno—” Jo stopped mid-word as he heard the ding and slide of an elevator door opening. He sat up, his brother mimicking the exact same movement as they heard footsteps headed their way.

  Ladon shut the folder, pausing as he went to return it.

  “Hurry up,” Jo whispered.

  Ladon looked up, panic rippling across his face. “I can’t remember which pile it came off.”

  Jo rolled his eyes. “Motherfucker…” The steps getting closer, he growled, “Pick a fucking pile and move your ass,” Jo’s words came through gritted teeth as he waited at the open door to the adjoined bathroom.

  Ladon’s eyes flicked up as he heard the door handle start to lower. He dumped the file on the closest pile, and dove for cover with his brother. Jo sighed with relief as he managed to match the click of both doors.

  Jo and Ladon were stuck in the bathroom until whoever it was entering the office left. Hearing the air push out of the chair, Jo assumed it might be a while.

  “What’s this?” a woman’s voice said. “I didn’t leave that there.”

  Jo looked at Ladon and growled, odds were that comment was about the file he didn’t replace correctly. They could hear papers moving, and the mumbling of a number. Jo looked at Ladon and gestured that there was a phone call being made. A nod from Ladon as they both leaned forward to try and hear everything that was said.

  “Mr. Spigoletti?” the woman said quietly. “Yes, it’s Ms. Cinders… okay… I’ll wait.”

  Jo went into his beast slightly so he could talk to his brother’s mind. ‘Spigoletti?’ Repeating the name to his brother, his brow creased as he asked, ‘You know if the name Spigoletti had been on any paperwork from Vern?’ Ladon shook his head, he didn’t know the name. ‘Nah, most likely some dirty late-night hook up.’

  ‘If I have to listen to dirty phone sex while I’m stuck in a fucking bathroom with my brother, I will need a therapist by morning.’ Jo chuckled.

  ‘You need a therapist now,’ Ladon replied.

  “Yes, I am here…” Ms. Cinders said, causing Jo and Ladon to both shut up quickly. A one-sided conversation unfolded before their ears. It was up to Jo and Ladon to make sense of it.

  “Hi. Yes… she’s fine…

  “Yes, that’s why I’m calling…

  “Mmmm…

  “Look, I did you guys a huge favor by helping her…

  “Do you understand what I’m risking?

  “Money won’t help me if I’m dead…

  “Mmmm…

  “I will do what I can…

  “If it comes down to a choice…

  “Don’t threaten me…” she paused. “Without me, she would already be dead.

  “Okay… I understand.”

  “Yes.”

  “Goodnight.”

  The phone was placed heavily on the desk, as the sound of a female’s tears falling reached the brothers’ ears.

  ‘What in the fuck is going on?’ Jo asked his brother’s mind. ‘I’m more lost than a lesbian at an all-boys school.’

  Ladon laughed silently, as he pictured his brother as a lesbian. With a shrug it wasn’t that far off the truth, Jo did like the pussy. Shaking his head as she refocused on what they had heard. ‘We need to see what Vern can find out about the name Spigoletti.’

  Nodding they agreed, hearing the woman stand and walk out the door. They waited for a few more minutes to make sure she was gone before coming out of the bathroom. Jo snorted as he looked at Ladon. “Lucky it isn’t a closet, people might start talking.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

  “You couldn’t get that lucky.” Ladon rolled his eyes. “Let’s just get home and see what we can dig up.”

  The brothers silently made their way out the way they had entered. Trying to readjust the door to look right, but with the jamb broken, it was only a matter of time before a break and enter was reported. Dragons didn’t have fingerprints, and even if they did, they wouldn’t be on any human records. However, what they had heard tonight confirmed Ms. Cinders was part of something big. Jo and Ladon guessed it had something to do with Taryn, which made them all involved now Attor has been gifted a mate.

  As Jo felt the burn of his white wings unfold, he shook his head in confusion. Things weren’t right, he couldn’t put his finger on it yet, but something wasn’t correct in what they had heard. As his wings pulsed in the water, the names floated through his brain, Cinders, Spigoletti, Pettigrove... Q. The last name caused the biggest shiver to run down his spine that his wings rippled like a small stone being dropped in a pond.
‘What is it about those names?’ He asked himself. ‘What’s the connection? Is there a connection? Maybe the connection is, that there isn’t one?’

  Ladon had taken off straight away, but with the mind connection they still in place, he’d heard and returned a thought, ‘I will give you a connection. It’s called my foot to your ass if you don’t move it.’ Jo laughed. ‘On my way fucker,’ he shot back.

  Jo always lingered, his brothers were all of the same colorings, Jo was pure white with a scattering of blackened scales. Where his brother’s wings tipped to the gold, his went from white to black to silver. He was always treated differently, and when they swam together, he would swim from the back. He had no camouflage in the water, and if a predator was to spot him, he needed to know his brothers weren’t close enough to be seen. Adding to that it was night, and a white object swimming in a black ocean stood out like a whore in church on a Sunday. Jo looked up, he couldn’t see the trail of bubbles left from his brother, so he knew it was safe to fly.

  Jo did what he loved most about being a dragon.

  He let his beast loose and flew through the water with a fierce untamable power.

  “We used to be able to see the water,” Attor said as he walked closer. He had seen Taryn sitting underneath the central statue from which all the Nest spiraled. It was, of course, a massive dragon and had a steady flow of water cascading down from the tips of its wings. It was carved from some of the rocks which had to be removed in order for the Nest to be born. It stood in the center of the common area, an area that was chosen for community meetings, markets and so forth. It was easily the size of a football field, with another one attached to the edge, it was used for growing grains. The dragons liked to be independent, but when living underwater, some magic from a few friendly witches was gratefully accepted. They were fortunate for a few dragons to have taken witches as mates, and an alignment was created.

  The dragon sculpture stood well over ten feet and had a basin surrounding it where the water was caught and recycled back to the top. It was a symbol of strength, courage, and determination. It showed no matter what was thrown at them, they would rise and prevail. Dragons were survivors and had a fantastic ability to adapt to whatever environment they needed. They proved that when they went underwater.

  Taryn looked at him and then to the statue. “You can’t see the water?”

  Attor snorted. “I meant above.” He pointed up with a flick of his eyes. “Our ceiling used to be a glass dome. Watching the sea creatures swim past was amazing. It was also easier to define night from day, as the natural lights from above would penetrate enough to see the difference.

  “Ahhh…” She nodded. “You like it here?” she asked.

  Attor took a seat beside her, not too close, but close enough to have a conversation. “Of course, it’s where my family is.”

  “Family is overrated.” She threw the comment out haphazardly.

  “You don’t live with your family?” he asked. Attor was hoping to build a base to converse on. He needed to know more, wanted to know more, this was his future.

  Shaking her head. “No. Family is just people who are supposed to love you, but when the proverbial hits the fan, they’re the first to disown you. I have no time for a family who has no time for me.”

  Attor leaned back, his hands clenched into fists on his knees, hearing the pain her voice made him angry. It was unreasonable and irrational, but it was there. If she hurt, he wanted to hurt those who made her feel that way. “Family can be difficult,” he said, thinking about his own intention to take the leadership from his brother. He considered himself a loyal and reliable warrior brother, but as he sat here, he felt a sense of disappointment in himself. Taryn was right, why would his brothers give him time, when he had rarely had time for them since the fall of the Oasis.

  Shit, he silently cursed at himself as the angry fog he held toward Volos begun to clear from his mind. I am a shit brother.

  “I don’t have any,” she breathed the words almost silently.

  “Is that who you are running from?”

  Taryn looked up at this man, who turned into a dragon and back into a man. There was no way he could ever know what she was. He wouldn’t ever be able to accept her if he knew the truth. She was a horrible, lying, murderous beast, and the sooner she got away from this place, the safer they would be.

  “It doesn’t matter the who’s, what’s, and where’s.” She shrugged. “The other dragon said I can leave tomorrow, so I’m just hanging ‘til then.”

  “Where will you go?” he asked. Hiding the trench that was opening in his heart, he inwardly sighed. If she ran, where did that put him? Stay with his brothers and protect the clan, the greater good, or would he run after his heart, completely selfish, a mere pawn in the chess game of life. Both options tugged at his heart, a choice he didn’t want to make.

  Taryn shrugged. “The furthest place my bank balance can afford a plane ticket to.” Standing up, she walked closer to the statue, the sound of trickling water calming her jagged nerves. “I envy your family, they seem really close.” She placed her hands on the edge of the water basin, turned and sat on it. Now facing Attor, she leaned back and crossed her legs at the ankles, his eyes locked on to her every movement.

  “The clan as a whole are very tight, but more so the warriors.”

  “Warriors?” tilting her head she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

  “That’s what I am. I am a warrior and protector of the clan. My father is King Basilisk, I am second born and second in line to the throne. Volos is the oldest, and deemed next king.” Attor’s hands relaxed as he talked about his family. She was asking about him, and he felt good about that.

  “You are a prince?” she asked.

  “I guess, but those terms aren’t commonly used. I am a warrior first and foremost. This is not a choice for me,” he said. “It’s my birthright and birth order, that dictated my role and placement.”

  “You have to be a warrior?” Taryn asked.

  Nodding, he confirmed, “Correct.” Seeing the look of shock on her face, he added quickly, “It is a great honor. Many would like to trade places with me. I live a life of servitude. I would give my life in place of another.”

  “You would die? To save someone else?”

  “I would gladly die an honorable death it if was to save a clan member. Absolutely.” Clenching his fists again. “When the birds attacked…” he swallowed loudly, the memories of that night, “… I saw terror flash on the faces of my people. Children screaming as the water rushed in surrounding them. I saw mothers clasping their babies to their chests. Eyes that begged for my help.” His eyes met Taryn’s as his words ran like a river. “When I went into battle against the feathered enemy, my blood froze with the hate flashing in their eyes. They would have been gleeful to see every last dragon, man, woman and child, drown to death that very day…” He paused for a moment as his voice broke with anger at the phoenix. “I can’t sit back. I won’t ever sit back, and let that level of evil run free into the branches of my family tree. Dragons by nature are peace-loving. We protect the humans around us, and happily co-exist on this amazing planet.” He continued, “It was something my mother bred us to believe from the moment we could breathe.”

  “Believe what?” Taryn asked quietly.

  “To be considered valuable, you must first be valued,” he said. “Meaning, that in order for you to live a wonderful life full of color and happiness, you must also bring those things to others.”

  “Says the warrior who’s ready to kill?” Her words cut him deep. She saw him flinch as they penetrated his conscious thoughts.

  “We do what we must,” his head hung as he spoke. “The greater good—”

  Taryn cut him off. “Greater good is just an excuse used by a cold-blooded killer,” she said, holding her hand up to make him let her finish “Most battles of the world are over issues long buried. Yet the children of the children of the children still carry th
e pitchfork and are ready to kill over a demon in the dark past. My family, for example, are the best grudge holders I know.” She snorted a laugh of condemnation. “A deed from four generations back, still deemed unresolved, will carry through to present day family members. The expectation that the kids of today must hate the wrongdoers of yester-year purely because the family loyalty dictates it to be done.” Taryn shrugged. “I won’t battle demons of someone else’s past.”

  Attor let her words dance around him. “So, you would have a wrongdoer to your family go unpunished in today’s world simply because it’s ‘not your battle?’” Using hand quotations, Attor furthered his question. “You don’t feel a loyalty that requires penance for an evil struck against your family?”

  “Justice?” she said. “An eye for an eye?” she asked further. “How many eyes can you give before an entire family goes blind, Attor?”

  Attor sat still, his focus on the gift that fate had given him, and the unique wisdom she spoke with. He agreed that blind loyalty would be a disastrous path for any family to follow. What he disagreed on, was knowing the past can be the most accurate predictor of the future. An enemy of the past will most likely continue well into generations to come. Stories get told, facts get stretched, and fires fueled by hate, continue to burn. Attor lived in the present world, and with his knowledge of a dangerous past he hoped to continue to live, with his family and clan members well into a bright and prosperous future.

  “Your words hold merit,” he said.

  Taryn shrugged. “Just seems like the only way to stop a grudge is to let go. Getting someone to be the first to do it, that’s the hardest part.” A light laugh escaped her chest. “I best get some sleep, I’m outta here tomorrow.”