Submerge (Apalala Clan Book 3)

by Dzintra Sullivan

  Elyse liked this woman’s tenacity more by the second. She placed the drink in front of her and smiled “On the house. The first…” she looked at Tor, “… Dragon’s Breath cocktail.”

  “Oh… he will pay.” Kylee grinned as she lifted the drink to her lips and took a sip. Elyse stood, frozen to the spot, waiting to see what her reaction might be. The moan of pleasure that came next caused Elyse to smile brighter than she had in months.

  When Kylee’s eyes had returned from the roll of desire, she said, “This is fucking divine. I’d travel the world to have a Dragon’s Breath on my tongue.”

  “I bet,” scoffed Tor, who burst into a deep rumbling guffaw with the look Kylee threw him.

  Kylee looked back at Elyse. “Doug, seriously, this is un-fucking-believable.” She passed the glass to Taryn, who had a sip and made the exact same sound Kylee had made minutes earlier. Elyse’s smile grew bigger as the drink traveled further down. Now poised at the lips of the man the ladies called Tor, he had a mouthful, and she held her breath.

  “Fuuuck,” he moaned, his eyes flicking open to look at Elyse. “If it’s perfection you were looking for, you have done it. Dragon’s Breath is sublime.” Passing the glass back to Kylee, he got out his wallet and placed a hundred-pound note on the bar top.

  Elyse’s eyes flickered with confusion. “It’s not worth anything like that.”

  “Says you. Let the man pay.” Kylee grinned as she and Taryn took turns finishing the drink off.

  “Thank you.” She smiled at the three newcomers.

  “If we bring back Tor’s brother for his birthday, will I be able to order this for his twenty-sixth-year celebration?” Kylee asked.

  Elyse looked to Bill. He had been sitting at a table reading the newspaper as the whole series of events unfolded. He nodded. Both of them knowing she had found the one, the drink that would put Sykes on the cocktail map. “Yes, it will be on the menu, as of… well… now.” She smiled.

  “Then pencil us in for Friday night, and I’ll see you then, Doug,” Kylee said with a big grin.

  The three of them bid Elyse a farewell and left the bar.

  Elyse looked to Bill again and grinned. “Dragon’s Breath.”

  “Dragon’s Breath.” He grinned proudly back at her.

  Volos came charging into his office, Wyvern and the others were already waiting for his arrival. “Sit,” he said as he took his place behind the mahogany desk. “What have you got, Wyvern?”

  All eyes looked to Wyvern. He was the youngest of the brothers but had the most training when it came to computers and the ways of the technological world. He stood easily six and a half feet with his large muscular frame matching that of his brothers. The only thing which set him apart was he hadn’t yet gotten any ink. His brothers found it a constant place of torment for him. However, ink wasn’t something he wanted.

  “Right,” he said with a voice so deep it seemed to bubble up from the souls of his boots. “We have noticed some activities that I’d like your input on.” He looked to V.

  “All or nothing.” V shrugged. “We fight as brothers. We make our choices as brothers.” V was adamant on keeping the brothers involved in every aspect of the battlefront. His father had kept things separate, and only the leader was informed of any changes. Although Volos was the one who was constantly being pulled in, spoken to, and groomed to be a great leader, his brothers, who were equal to him in every way bar the birth order, were left out in the cold.

  They were made to feel less, inadequate, and disposable. This was something that when V took the throne, he vowed to change. While he understood the clan needed a leader, he would be that leader. The change Volos had made included bringing all the boys in on all of the meetings. Not only then were they all on the same page, but they all had vastly different ways each of them approached problems. He firmly believed, between the five of them, there would never be a time they didn’t or wouldn’t find a solution.

  “Spit it out, Vern,” Ladon said. “I have… things to do.”

  “Don’t you get sick of playing silly games, Ladon?” Attor asked as he crossed his arms. Tor didn’t understand online gaming, nor did he have any interest in knowing more about it. If he wanted to play a game, then rack it up on the billiard table. That was a game he was good at.

  “Don’t you get sick of speaking when no one asked you?”

  Jo burst out crowing. “You have met our brother, right?” He then doubled over with his laughter. “That’s Tor’s favorite thing to do.”

  Ladon rolled his eyes as Jo continued to crow.

  “You have to grow up one day, Ladon.”

  Ladon’s head remained focus completely on Vern, the only indication that he’d even heard his brother was when he lifted his left hand and slowly extended his middle finger. This just increased Jo’s laughter until V slammed his hand on the desk.

  “Wyvern?” was all that V said.

  “Some friends of mine in the Scotland Environmental Protection Agency or SEPA and Scotland Yard, have spoken about some unusual activities out at the oil fields. As you know, the North Sea is riddled with huge oil deposits and even getting onto one of these sites can be incredibly stringent.”

  “Unusual how?” Jo asked.

  “As in small detonation devices being found on site.”

  V sat up in his seat. “Forgive me for being ignorant, but I’m not following the connection between oil sites and us.”

  “Imagine…” Wyvern turned to his brother, “… if one, two, four… however many oil fields blew up all of a sudden. What do you think will happen? Apart from the cost of fuel blasting the roof off any budgets, it would also cause a massive environmental disaster.” Vern waited for them to follow. “In the North Sea with oil everywhere… fire, devastation…” He still waited before dropping the punch line. “In our backyard.”

  “Flushing us out?” Tor said cautiously.

  “How do you know this has anything to do with us? Could just be a jerknado with a small cock complex,” Jo offered.

  “Could be,” Vern said as he walked over to a folder he had on V’s desk. Opening it, he pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to V. “This leads me in a different thought direction.”

  Volos’ brows frowned deeply as his eyes took in what he was being shown. Without a word, he handed it on. Letting the image go from dragon brother to dragon brother, it wasn’t until he held it once more in his hand, did he say, “Fucking birds.”

  Wyvern nodded. “It’s pretty obvious that the protruding phoenix feather is the message. This device wasn’t meant to go off, it was meant to be found. The message was clearly intended to be delivered to us. They know we’re around somewhere.”

  “This is their declaration of war?” Tor asked.

  “Let them come. Never been scared of a feathered freak before, today and tomorrow will be no different.” Ladon’s voice had darkened as his mind prepared for war once more.

  “That’s wonderful, Ladon. This isn’t a game. We have actual clan lives at stake,” Tor said.

  “You don’t think I know that?” His back straightened with the disrespectful tone his brother was using. “You don’t think I understand what it could cost us? Or what we’d lose?”

  “You haven’t found—” Tor stopped himself from finishing the sentence, but not quick enough for half the intended message from being delivered loud and clear.

  “Fuck you, Tor, I don’t need a woman to be the best warrior this clan has. Unlike you, I won’t just protect one woman, I will protect all women.” He got up with a grunt, his chair sliding back against the stone floor loudly. “I am a fighter, first and foremost. You can keep the rest to yourselves. It has only caused you both to become weakened to the bigger picture.” He went to walk toward the door.

  “Ladon,” V’s voice was firm and commanding.

  He stopped with his hand on the archway of the opening. Turning to look at his eldest brother, he replied, “Yes?”

  “There’s nothing
weakening about finding your mate. If anything, it has given me more strength,” V said calmly.

  “Says you, from where I stand?”

  “Your standpoint is a moot point, Ladon. Attacking your brothers when we are trying to defend against an outside assault is irresponsible. You either stand with or stand aside.”

  “Yet, ultimatums are apparently okay?” Ladon shook his head with disappointment. “I will always stand with until my last breath.” He looked directly at V. “You know where I am when you need me.”

  V watched him walk around the corner and away from the meeting he had called. Taking a deep breath, he looked around at his brothers. “Okay, back to business.”

  “You’re just going to let him walk?” Tor asked incredulously.

  V nodded. “Yes, I am. Now, Wyvern, do you have this feather? Can we test it?”

  Wyvern’s eyes flicked between V and Tor who were huffing and puffing about people needing to be held accountable and having responsibilities. Tentatively Vern spoke, “Not yet, but by the end of the day I should. The feather is being treated as non-evidence.”

  “We know differently,” V said.

  “You think we know differently,” Jo corrected him.

  “I hope you’re all wrong because if the birds already know where we are, this war is coming faster than any of us expected,” Tor spoke quietly.

  With no more to discuss right at that second, the meeting broke as they all went back to general duties around the cave.

  Everyone except Vern. His job never took a break.

  “Miss Doug?”

  Elyse was still at work when a call had come through for her. She didn’t make her number known to many people, and she had gone to quite a bit of trouble to make sure it wasn’t listed anywhere. This call, however, had come to the bar and not her personal phone.

  “Miss Doug?” the male voice repeated officially.

  “I’m Doug, what can I do for you?” She strained against the sounds of her rowdy bar to hear what this man was saying.

  “Do you know a Charlie?” the man asked.

  “Depends.” Elyse didn’t come down with the shower of rain. She knew by the tone of this man’s voice he was an officer of the law. They all sounded the same. As soon as they were given a badge and a gun, it was like they were superheroes. Not to Elyse, officers were hunters, and not always for the bad guys.

  “This is Officer Jameson,” he cleared his throat. “I have a man named Charlie who says he knows you.”

  Elyse knew Charlie from the bridge every night. “Yeah, I know him,” she said. “What’s he done?”

  “Nothing, we’re just concerned for his welfare.” Elyse’s eyes rolled at the term ‘concerned for his welfare.’ She had heard it many times after the death of her parents. She didn’t trust the authorities as far as she could toss them. He continued, “Charlie came in disorientated, confused. We don’t want to release him if he doesn’t have anywhere to go.”

  Her need to protect those she cared for immediately rose to the surface. “Release him. I can vouch for him.”

  “No can do, ma’am. I will need you to come down to the station and sign some papers. They will state you’re going to take care of him and see that his basic living needs are met.”

  “Seriously? I am at work.”

  “The station closes at ten-thirty. After that, he will have to stay till morning.”

  Elyse let out an audible growl. “Fine. I’ll be there soon.” She put the phone back on the bar, looking over at her boss. “I have to cut out early, Bill.”

  “Problems?”

  “No. Well, not for me per se. Someone I care about needs some help, though,” she said with concern.

  “Then go.” He looked at his watch then over to Julie, the other bartender. “We got this. It’s only an hour until closing.”

  Elyse nodded as she removed her lanyard and hung it behind the bar. “Thanks, Bill. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” He nodded as she picked up her bag and walked out into the cool night air.

  Walking into the station, Elyse went straight to the front desk. “You have a friend of mine.”

  “Then you should really check the company you keep, young lady.”

  Elyse’s head straightened as she looked into the lifeless gray eyes of this older man. He was easily in his twilight years and judging by the extreme lack of interest, he had been put on a desk job against his wishes. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

  The man stood, his big belly showing he’d indulged in many a donut snack. “A young lady like you shouldn’t know anyone who would be caught up in our company.”

  “Judgmental much? Just get me someone who can help me spring Charlie, save the holier-than-thou stuff for someone who wants to hear it.” Elyse had just had to leave work, and the last thing she needed was an officer on a power trip. Her life after her parents had died involved more officers than she ever cared to encounter again. She had learned a long time ago a uniform didn’t always mean they were friendly.

  “Charlie,” he said with a low hum as he looked at the paperwork on his desk. “Oh, yeah, the crazy bum.”

  “Glad to see your judgment wasn’t just saved for me. Wow! Can I deal with someone else?” Elyse asked impatiently as she looked over his shoulder.

  The officer straightened his back. “Sorry, choices are few and far between this late at night.” He looked at the sheet of paper. “You’re Doug?” His eyebrow raised slowly, leaning over to look her up and down.

  “Yep, I’m Doug. Now, about Charlie?” Elyse’s head titled as she flipped her hip out to the right. “I need to sign something?”

  He slid the piece of paper over the desk, handing her a pen. “He needs to be seen by a doctor. I assume you will see to that?”

  “For the cough?”

  “No, for the hallucinations. He was a babbling mess when he came stumbling in here.”

  “He came in here?” Elyse stopped mid-signature. “Of his own free will?”

  The office nodded. “He was saying that he saw birds, big birds. Men who turned into birds, right in front of him. We had him drug tested which resulted in nothing, not even alcohol.”

  “Charlie doesn’t drink.” In all her years of knowing him, he had never had so much as a sip of alcohol. She didn’t know why. She hadn’t asked, it wasn’t any of her business.

  “That’s what the tests showed, leaving mental illness as the only possibility. What you’re signing here is stating that you accept responsibility for him and his medical needs. He has settled down now. Otherwise, he would be at the hospital. Do you understand what you’re signing?” the officer asked again.

  Elyse signed the forms and slid them back over to him. “I understand.”

  He checked the signature and nodded. “I’ll go get him.”

  Elyse sat on the chair for ten minutes while she waited for Charlie to be brought around to the front. When she saw him, it broke her heart. He was obviously terrified—his hands were shaking as he clung to the blanket they had given him. He looked like he’d aged twenty years since she had seen him only last night. She couldn’t help but go straight up to him and wrap her arms around his thin body. “I got you, Charlie. Let’s get you home.”

  “Doug? Oh, love, you didn’t need to come and get this old man. You have better—”

  “Shhh… I don’t. Now let’s go.” She looked at the officer. “Okay with you?” It came out with more attitude than she intended, but seeing Charlie so afraid made her so angry on his behalf. The officer nodded as Elyse took Charlie out of the station.

  They walked together, her arm still around him as she tried to keep him warm and help him to stop shaking. When they reached Charlie’s normal place to settle in for the night, he stopped walking.

  “You okay?” Elyse asked.

  “This is my home,” he replied to her.

  “Not tonight it’s not. You will come home with me. I have a sofa you can crash on. For that matter… I’ll crash on the sofa, and you can
have my bed. It’s not much, but it’s—”

  “No.” Charlie’s word was firm. “Look, love, you are the most special soul I know and thank you for coming and getting me. This is where I stay, though.” He walked up to his normal place. “Feel free to drop by with those beef rolls again, though. That was yum.”

  Elyse sighed with defeat, knowing she wouldn’t be able to coax him into coming with her. Street folk have pride that runs deep in their veins. Charity or anything perceived as such is strongly refused. It’s appreciated but never accepted. She should know, she was street folk for a few years. She sat next to him because she felt she needed to ask, “What happened tonight, Charlie?”

  He looked at Elyse with widened eyes, the fear was back ten-fold. “Birds,” he whispered as his head ducked, and he looked frantically to the skies. “Men who walked as men. Then… then…” his voice dropped lower as if he were afraid they would hear him, “… turned into birds.”

  “Men who turned into birds?” Her brow creased as she wondered if he’d fallen and hit his head.

  “Shhh…” He clapped his hand firmly over her mouth. “If they hear you, they will kill you.”

  “Who?”

  “The birdmen.” His eyes flickered wildly. “They look like normal men, Doug…” He turned to look directly into her eyes. She could see that whatever he saw, he believed it. For him, this was real, very real. “They’re hunting us. I heard them say they were hunting.”

  Elyse didn’t know what to make of his words. It all seemed unbelievable to her, but the honest fear she saw in Charlie’s eyes made her doubt her own logic. “Want to come and see a doctor with me tomorrow?”

  His eyes flickered around to her. “I’m not crazy, Doug. Those officers kept saying I was nuts. Insane. Cuckoo. They don’t know what they are talking about.” He shook his head slowly. “I tried to warn them. They will see. They will be sorry.”

  “You definitely staying here, then?” Elyse lifted the jacket around her shoulders, huddling into herself as the cool air caught along her neck where it was exposed.