“No way!” Arlo took a step closer. The man backed away, fear flickering in his eyes.
“They won’t hurt you,” said Juniper. “They’ve seen my scales, and are fine with them.”
“I haven’t seen your scales,” said Arlo.
“And you won’t, ever,” said Juniper. She gestured to Heath. “This is Heath Ember.”
The dragon man’s eyes widened. “I have heard of you. And you are also Embers?” His gaze went from Arlo to Lincoln.
“That’s right. We’re famous!” said Arlo.
Heath took a step forward and waved Arlo and Lincoln back to avoid crowding the man. Curiosity raged inside him as he studied the scales. Another dragon hybrid. How did he not know about these people? He should have searched harder for them, not given up on something so valuable. “We’re not here to cause any trouble. We’re looking for someone who’s missing, and might need help.”
“I’m Artorius.” The dragon man nodded. “I was cautious when Juniper said you needed help. But then I heard who you were looking for, and couldn’t refuse.”
“You know my father?” asked Annie.
Artorius smiled at her. “Of course! You look like Dmitri. And yes, I do know him. He stayed here one night. That man has a fire in his belly for us dragons.”
“You’re a dragon?” Lincoln’s gaze ran over Artorius. “You sure you haven’t had yourself modified?”
Artorius frowned. “No modifications needed. Shall I breathe fire for you to prove I’m the real thing?”
Arlo’s eyebrows shot up. “You can do that?”
Juniper hit him in the arm. “Of course he can’t, idiot. Artorius, can we come inside? We met a few thugs on the road, and there might be more.”
“You weren’t followed?” Artorius’ face grew concerned.
“There’s no sign of them,” said Heath.
“Come in. It’s never safe out there.” Artorius opened the door and the group walked in.
The room was lit by a single electro-globe in one corner, casting a pale-yellow glow. The windows were covered from the outside, giving the place a cave-like quality.
Artorius passed around water as the group arrange themselves on the shabby furnishings.
Heath remained standing by the door, watching. Artorius’ hands were shaking. This guy was nervous. Maybe because he had a houseful of strangers carrying weapons. Or it was because he knew what was really out in the Black Zone and was worried it would come get him.
“Tell us what you know about Dmitri Grimwald,” said Heath.
Artorius’ gaze shifted to Heath, and he nodded. “He was here a week ago. I found him a mile from my home. He was using a scanner to locate something underground. I’d have left him to it. You get all sorts in the Black Zone, and can never be sure what they’re looking for. But as I was watching, he fell and didn’t get up.”
“So you helped him?” asked Annie.
“I confess, not to begin with,” said Artorius, ducking his head, his expression one of shame. “I returned here, but the image of your father on the ground kept playing on my mind. So I went back to the site and found him unconscious. I dragged him here. He was dehydrated and hungry, so I gave him what I could, and let him rest. It was only when he told me his name and what he was looking for that I realized who I’d saved.”
“How do you know Dmitri?” asked Heath.
“He’s a believer,” said Artorius.
“Dragons, you mean?” Annie’s tone sounded harsh.
Artorius spread his arms, and his scales slid to a lighter shade of green. “What else?”
ANNIE RAN A HAND DOWN her face in frustration. The early start and lack of sleep was stretching her patience to the breaking point. If it wasn’t for Heath’s presence, she’d be yelling by now, demanding to know everything Artorius could tell her about her father. Then she’d be out the door, hunting for him.
And as for Artorius’ claim of his dragon heritage, she couldn’t believe it. Even though she’d seen the scales, they weren’t real. Lincoln had been right to suggest they were enhancements. What else could they be?
“Did my father tell you what he was looking for?” Annie took a deep breath and forced herself to relax.
“A complete egg,” said Artorius.
“There’s no such thing,” said Heath.
“That’s been found,” Artorius added.
“I’d know if there was.”
“But you’ve never been to the Black Zone. Things are different here.” Artorius’ scales gleamed. “The people included.”
“We’ve never needed to. But we’ve been into the Badlands,” said Heath. “We’ve had several trips here because of tip-offs about remains.”
“We don’t like to share our knowledge of finds,” said Artorius. “Too many people come and take what’s not theirs. This is one of the last vestiges of the dragons.”
“Why haven’t the State taken you, if that’s the case?” asked Lincoln.
“Because we hide,” said Artorius. He sighed and looked around the gloomy interior of his home. “Yet, they still find us. The bases nearby opened a few months ago. Since then, more and more people in the zone have disappeared. It’s only a matter of time before I’m found. I must move on soon.”
“They’re targeting residents of the Badlands?” asked Annie.
Artorius nodded. “They take them to the bases and they never come out.”
“What happens at the bases?” Annie’s stomach churned with worry.
“As I said, no one has ever come out alive, so it can’t be good.”
“They’re experimenting on hybrids,” said Juniper.
“Then they won’t have taken my father there.” Annie rubbed the back of her neck. “He might study them, but he hasn’t got dragon DNA. He’s run the test several times on himself. I get the impression he’s disappointed he doesn’t carry any genetic markers.”
“They might have taken him because of his knowledge,” said Artorius. “The State will mark your father as dangerous. If they can convince him to work for them, his knowledge will be invaluable.”
“He’d never do that,” said Annie. “He works alone. I used to have to force him to let me help with his experiments when I was a kid.”
“And he doesn’t trust the State,” said Artorius. “He had nothing good to say about them when he was here.”
“When did he leave?” asked Annie. “Did he tell you where he was going?”
“He left a week ago. I urged him to stay for longer, but he wouldn’t,” said Artorius. “I gave him a day’s worth of provisions and wished him well. He didn’t tell me where he was going though. But he had several other sites in the Black Zone he wanted to investigate and said he was heading west.”
Arlo grimaced. “Toward the State bases.”
“Then that’s where we go.” Annie stood and looked at Heath. “Let’s get moving.”
Heath shook his head. “It’s already light out. We’ll be too obvious if we travel.”
“We can’t wait until night, we’ll never find him.” Annie moved toward the door, but Heath blocked her way.
“We stay here until it gets dark,” said Heath. “Make a plan and find out about these bases. If we go in blind, it will be suicide.”
“My dad can’t wait that long.” Annie tried to dart around Heath and get to the door, but he grabbed her arm and pinned her to him.
“We wait.”
“I’m not one of your squad. You don’t get to order me around.”
“You’re a part of this team. You do as I say.”
Lincoln cleared his throat. “She is paying us to do this. If the lady wants to go—”
Heath dropped his hold on Annie. “No, she’s not going. And she’s not paying us.”
“Wait! We’re doing this for free?” Arlo frowned.
“Annie’s paying for our resources. We need nothing else,” said Heath.
“But I can give you credits, if it means we get to my father now.” Annie tur
ned to Arlo. “Tell me how much you want, and it’s yours.”
“That’s a generous offer.” Arlo grinned, but the grin faded under Heath’s glare.
“Not happening,” said Heath. “We scout the area before we go in, get as much information as we can about the terrain and the bases. We need to know what we’re up against.”
“I can help with that,” said Artorius. “I’ve studied the bases, and this landscape is my home. I can tell you the areas to avoid.”
Annie looked up at Heath and the determination in his eyes. There was no way she’d get past him. And despite her frustration, she knew he was right. They had to make a plan to make sure they got her father back safely. But she hated waiting around, hated the thought of what might be happening to him.
“How long do you need?” asked Annie.
Heath turned from Annie. “Lincoln, contact Hive One and get them to scan for individual heat signatures near known dragon hotspots. Could be Dmitri hasn’t been captured and is still on his dragon hunt.”
“I’m on it,” said Lincoln, as he headed toward the door. “Get a better signal outside.”
“Arlo, you and Juniper head out and search for tracks leading from here. See if you can pick up Dmitri’s trail.”
“That will be gone by now,” said Artorius. “The wind blows through here every day. And we’ve been getting blasts of hot grit from the new volcanos. There will be no trace of Dmitri.”
“We should still look.” Juniper jumped to her feet and headed to the door, nudging Arlo as she passed him. “I know this place and can spot anything that’s been disturbed. Could be Dmitri’s been doing some digging.”
“I’m right behind you,” said Arlo.
“Artorius, we need all the information you have on the bases,” said Heath.
“I’ll tell you what I can. I hope it will be of some help.”
“Any information will be useful.” Annie’s hands clenched into fists, as she resigned herself to having to wait out the day. “Just so long as we find my dad.”
Chapter 10
Heath eased to the ground outside Artorius’ home and pinched the bridge of his nose. They’d spent the day gathering intel to refine the number of sites to investigate.
They’d narrowed it to three locations. One of those was a State base. Heath was not taking Annie there. If he had to, he’d return her to the bunker and come back for Dmitri. The base was too dangerous to take her into.
“Everything okay?” Annie emerged from Artorius’ house, sat down next to Heath, and nudged his knee. Her hair was pushed off her face, and there was a smudge of charcoal on her chin from her experimentation with Artorius’ cooking fire.
Heath resisted the urge to wipe the smudge away. “Fine. Just a lot to think about.”
“If you’re worried about taking me into the base, don’t be,” said Annie. “I’m tougher than I look. And remember, my brothers made sure I can take care of myself. Wanted to know I could deal with any creeps if needed.”
Heath closed his eyes for a second. He’d met Annie’s brothers at a university event. And she was right, they’d been fiercely protective of their sister, watching every guy who spoke to her with evil in their eyes. “Garrett and Darth?”
“That’s right.” Annie smiled. “Big brothers can be a massive pain, but they wanted to make sure I could get out of any situation. I could even take on you and your brothers if I had to.”
“You’ll never have to worry about that.” Heath saw the tiredness beneath Annie’s eyes, but she was still beautiful. He reached over and touched the graze on her cheek.
A blush crossed Annie’s face, but she didn’t pull away. “I know that. I trust you all. And you understand about younger sisters. How’s Izzie doing these days?”
Heath’s jaw clenched, and he dropped his hand. Of course, Annie wouldn’t know what happened to his baby sister. “She was taken during a protest.”
Annie’s eyes widened. “What was she protesting about?”
“The curfew rules.” Heath looked into the distance. He remembered the comms he’d received like it was yesterday, listing Izzie as one of the missing following the protests. They were supposed to be peaceful demonstrations, a way for people to express their concerns. Then the State moved their militia in, claiming someone had fired at them. The rest was a blur of fists and bloodshed.
“Izzie was arrested?”
“We’re not sure,” said Heath. “There’s no official arrest record, but that’s not a surprise. Troublemakers have a habit of vanishing without trace.”
“Izzie wasn’t a troublemaker,” said Annie.
“Depends which side you’re on,” said Heath. “We visited the compounds where they took the protesters, and as many of the prisons we could get access to. At first, we thought Izzie might have been listed under a different name, gotten herself a new identity so she wouldn’t be linked to us. She was always like that, wanting to keep us out of trouble. We searched for months.”
“But you never found her.” Annie rested a hand on Heath’s knee. “She might still be out there.”
Heath pressed his lips together. “Not after all this time. Not if she’s alone.”
“She knows how to look after herself,” said Annie. “I bet you taught her plenty of survival skills. Don’t give up looking.”
“We never do.” Heath’s words rushed out on a breath. “And if we discover the worst has happened, and she’s...” Even now he couldn’t say the word. “Even if Izzie’s gone for good, at least we’ll know.” And then he’d go looking for whoever killed her and end them.
Annie’s hand tightened on Heath’s knee.
Arlo walked out of the house, followed by Lincoln and Juniper. Artorius wasn’t far behind, but remained by the door.
Heath looked at the sky. It was dark enough for them to move. He stood and held a hand out for Annie to help her up. “Let’s head out.”
Juniper and Arlo were on one bike, and Annie and Heath the second. Lincoln had borrowed Artorius’ modified trail bike.
“Thanks for letting us use your home,” Heath said to Artorius.
“You’re welcome,” said Artorius, his gaze shooting around the encroaching darkness. “Just make sure to bring Dmitri home safe.”
Heath nodded. “Will do.” They cruised away from the house, keeping the bike lights off to minimize the risk of being detected.
Juniper took the lead, with Lincoln at the rear, and Heath and Annie in the middle. Heath felt Annie’s arms tighten as he picked up speed. He loved her being so close. It felt natural she was with him. He didn’t want to let her go, even though he’d have to, when this mission ended.
They traveled along a bumpy track for twenty minutes, the going slow due to the lack of light, before Juniper slowed her bike. Heath pulled up alongside, and Lincoln joined them. There were several open fires burning nearby, suggesting people. Maybe more dragon hybrids. The fact they existed had still not sunk in.
“This is the first location,” said Juniper. “The scan of this area showed people using it for a base. And it’s a known site for digging up bones and egg fragments.”
Heath’s heartbeat kicked up a notch at the thought of all the finds he could scavenge. “Lincoln, Arlo, do a sweep of the area. Keep a lookout for patrols. We’ll look around and see if we can find anyone who’s seen Dmitri.”
“We’re on it.” Arlo climbed off the back of Juniper’s bike. “Don’t miss me too much.”
Juniper snorted a laugh. “What was your name again?”
Juniper and Heath cruised their bikes toward the fires.
“People spook easily here,” said Juniper. “I’ll do the talking. They know me. If you go in with your guns out demanding answers, they’ll fake ignorance and vanish into the dark.”
“No problem,” said Heath. So long as they found Dmitri alive and well, and got out in one piece, he didn’t care who did the talking.
“We’ll leave the bikes here and walk the rest of the way.” Juniper
cruised closer to a small fire and then stopped. The smell of roasting meat drifted toward them.
Heath saw two people sitting near the fire. They jumped up and their hands moved inside their jackets.
“Relax, Sam,” called Juniper, as she turned off the bike. “I’m not here to cause trouble.”
The squat, muscular guy who looked ready to launch himself at the group, dropped his hand to his side. “What you doing out here?”
“Telling you to keep the fire smaller.” Juniper climbed off the bike and strolled over to him. “You’ll have the whole militia after you before you know it. Are you planning on setting off fireworks, next?”
Sam shrugged. “It gets cold at night.” His gaze ran over Heath and Annie. “You’ve brought company.”
“They’re friendly,” said Juniper. “And looking for someone who’s gone missing.”
“Good luck with that,” said the other guy. He was taller and slimmer than Sam and had narrow, almond-shaped eyes. “You shouldn’t bring people out here, Juniper. It’s not safe for anyone.”
“Lucas, they understand the risks,” said Juniper. “And they’re paying me.”
Annie stepped forward. “We’re looking for my father.”
Juniper held up a hand. “Her dad’s into hunting dragon relics. He heard there were good finds out here and decided to investigate.”
“Then he’s crazy,” said Sam. “Good luck with finding him out here. Probably been eaten by the sand worms by now.”
Heath’s hands flexed. “He knows his way around a dragon site. He’s investigated hundreds of them. And he knows about sand worms and how to avoid being their dinner.”
Sam’s eyes tightened as he looked at Heath. “Who are you?”
“They’re not important,” said Juniper. She pulled a screen from her jacket and showed the two men a picture of Dmitri. “Recognize this guy?”
Sam and Lucas stared at the image for several seconds in silence.
“He could be sick,” said Annie. “And might not have been making much sense, if he spoke with you.”
Sam exchanged a glance with Lucas. “We’ve seen him. And you’re right, he’s not a well guy.”
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