Submerge (Apalala Clan Book 3)

by Dzintra Sullivan

  “Yes, love, go home. It’s cold. I’ll be fine.” He patted her knee. “Just watch out for…” He pointed above. “You know.”

  “Birds, yes.” She nodded. “I’ll be careful.” Getting up, she started to walk away. “I’ll bring food tomorrow after work,” she said over her shoulder and heard him mumble a thanks.

  Within twenty minutes, she was home and attending to an impatient cat meowing loudly as he wound around her legs.

  Placing Quil’s bowl on the floor, she finally had a chance to think.

  What on earth could Charlie be on about? Birds? Not just birds, but men who turn into birds. Elyse knew it was impossible. But his fear? She shook it off. He must have eaten something. Hit his head. Anything.

  She cared a great deal about Charlie, and this new development concerned her. She would check on him tomorrow.

  Flopping down on her small sofa, she picked up the laptop and flipped the top. Laying back on her simple brown cushions, she balanced the computer on her knees.

  “Please be there. I need to work off some of this energy.”

  Ladon was walking back to his room when he caught sight of Kylee. He tried to duck around the corner, but by the whistle she just blew, she saw him too.

  “Did you just duck?” Kylee asked as she walked up to him, staring him right in the eyes, her hands on her hips. She meant to be confrontational, and right now she was achieving it in spades.

  “Ahhh…” Ladon’s eyes dropped from her focus and ran his hand nervously through his hair. “Nahhh, I was just—”

  She clapped her hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Ladon. Honestly, it looks like you’re zoned anyway. You okay?”

  “Yeah, just a lot going on,” he said.

  Kylee was considered an honorary dragon, but when push came to shove, she wasn’t. Ladon wouldn’t treat her like she was. He liked her enough, but she was human and, in that sense, a hindrance on the battlefield.

  “Want to talk about it?” she asked. “I’m a good listener.”

  “No offense, Kylee, but there’s nothing you can help me with.”

  Kylee snickered. “Funny, people always say no offense right before they say something offensive.” She held up her hand to him when he opened his mouth in protest. “It’s fine. Takes more than a moody little dragon jerk to hurt me in my feelies.”

  Ladon watched her as she walked away, her back straightened to make sure he knew she wasn’t offended by his careless wording. Releasing the breath he’d been holding, he turned back and continued to his room. He didn’t know why he was so angry. He certainly had no reason to be, but he just was. He wanted to hurt something, kill something, rip something apart with his bare hands. As he got to his room, he rested his hands on the back of his sofa while hanging his head deep between his shoulder blades, and he breathed in and out slowly. As he looked up, the computer screen flickered like a beacon of hope. Jumping over the back of the sofa in one easy leap, his butt landed perfectly in place as he pressed on.

  Warcraft, one of the places he felt at home. He didn’t have to deal with royal duties or mouthy brothers. In Warcraft, he was the dominant one. He ruled his domain with black steel armor and a polished battle-ax.

  “Please be there, I need to kill someone,” he murmured as the screen came to life. Pushing the buttons as he logged in, he made his way across the land in hunt of one specific person. Ladon had blinkers on, dismissing elves and dwarfs with a single blow of his ax as they passed. None of them gave him what he wanted, none of them offered him the challenge because none of them were Doug.

  The names on the side changed, and Ladon saw Doug’s approach. “Yes, come at me, bro.” He waited, letting the prey find its predator. Standing still, his warrior, Nodal, waited, his ax hanging by his side as he watched the characters move about in front of him. Nodal only had eyes for one person, and he was just about there.

  Ladon read the challenge on the screen from Doug, he accepted quickly and readied his stance for a battle he needed right now.

  The next hour was spent trading blow for blow with a formidable opponent. Just as Ladon thought he might deliver the killer blow, the druid would come up with some potion to avoid the majority of it, and instead harnessing it and returning to Ladon as a direct-attack maneuver. Ladon wiped the sweat from his brow as his fingers worked over and over—he hadn’t felt this alive in months. Finally, someone in this game posed a viable opponent.

  “V wants to talk to you,” Jo said as he passed Ladon’s room. When Ladon didn’t reply, Jo added, “Now.”

  Ladon whipped his head around to glare at his brother. “Then V can waddle his ass down here and talk to me. If you want to look past your own ego, Jo, I am fucking busy.”

  “My ass doesn’t waddle, does it?” V said as he entered the room.

  Ladon groaned as he knew this would end the battle. He looked back at the game just as Doug delivered the ending blow to him.

  “Nooo… no, no. Fuuuck.”

  Doug had won that battle.

  “Nooo, don’t…” Ladon watched the PvP chart change and lift Doug’s name to the top. “Fuuuck.” Ladon stood abruptly, grabbed a mug from the table, and launched it against the wall. The shattering of ceramic on stone caused a sound somewhat like a machine gun going off.

  “Did you lose, pretty boy?” Jo pouted.

  Ladon flipped him the bird. “I had him pinned before you both came in. Now I’m… now I’m—”

  “A loser?” Jo offered.

  Ladon launched at his brother, but V stepped between just in time and took the brunt of Ladon’s body weight on his shoulder. “Oomph,” he puffed out. “Jo, leave.”

  “But—”

  “If I let him go, you might not be so smug,” V said as he grit his teeth while holding back a raging dragon which wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

  Jo shrugged and walked away. “Another day, loser.”

  Ladon stopped pushing, his chest heaved with anger at his brother. “Why did you stop me?”

  “Fighting is for the enemy, not your brothers,” V said. “Besides, I need to talk to you. Not watch you and your brother trade blow for blow.”

  “I could have taken him.”

  “No doubt.” V didn’t care to bet which brother could take which. However, he needed Ladon to calm down and talk to him. “Take a walk with me?”

  Ladon nodded and followed his brother past the myriad of cave openings, corridors that led to more openings, and those that led to even more. The cave V had chosen was big enough for three clans to hide in. As they came to an opening, V took a seat on some exposed rock. Joining his brother, Ladon looked out to the North Sea—the open ocean of dreams and nightmares, depending on which side of the boat you were sitting. As the wind whipped up, Ladon stared out, still angry about what had just happened. He knew that next time, he would have to challenge and smash that druid into the ground, and he would be back on top. He hoped Doug would still be there when V was finished with whatever this was.

  “Ladon,” V said. “I’ve noticed some hostilities toward your brothers and myself. Is there something I can help you with? Talk about?”

  “That’s what this is about?” Ladon raised an eyebrow. “Of all the things you have to worry about, this is what is taking up space in your mind?”

  “You are my brother. I will never be too busy for you.” V’s sincerity was thickly attached to his words.

  Ladon returned his stare out to the water, the breeze whipping up as the waves crashed well below them at the base of the cave formation. “I’m sorry, okay?” he muttered. “I know your women don’t make you weaker. I’m just frustrated. It’s been too long between fights. The workout room isn’t enough for releasing this pent-up energy. It’s not like I can actually drive my cold steel into their bodies. I can’t breathe in the same satisfaction of seeing their blood run free from their body.”

  V nodded. “I would prefer you didn’t, but I can see where your frustration is coming from. You need the fight, don’t yo
u, Ladon?”

  “More than you can possibly understand, V.”

  “And that’s why the games?”

  “They mildly calm my need to kill,” he said. “I know you all chuckle at me, and sure it’s virtual. However, within that world, I can drive my ax hard and without hesitation into the head of my opponent. I can see them bleed, and I can feel their fear. I need it.”

  “And we just interrupted you?”

  The anger in Ladon made a sudden resurge, his teeth grit. “Yes, and against one of my most anticipated opponents. I have hunted this guy for months. He and I have been playing cat and mouse waiting for the perfect time to attack. He attacked today, and I had him pinned… until…” His voice dropped off.

  “I won’t play you for a fool, Ladon, and say I understand because I don’t. However, something that’s this important to you should be important to all of us.” V’s voice was calm and collected. “How can I help you?”

  “I appreciate the gesture, V, but there’s nothing you can do. I’ll sort it out next time I go on.”

  “What about a race?” V knew Ladon loved a challenge. The boys often raced out to the oil rigs and back. There were markings on the cave walls to keep track of who was in the lead.

  Ladon’s head tilted. “Feel like losing?” A prickle of energy rippled up Ladon’s spine.

  V took off his leathers, nudity never an issue between the brothers. “To Valhall and back.” V grinned as his brother joined him naked and standing on the cliff edge. “Last one back cleans the other’s boots for a week.”

  Ladon cracked up. “Too easy, brother. Ready?”

  “I was born ready.” V nodded as they both took their starting position. Below them were crashing waves and an expansive ocean. “Go.”

  The two brothers dove off in unison, their bodies on the way down changing as the air rushed around them. By the time they hit the water, both of them were in full dragon form. Scales that flickered iridescent shades of blue, green, and every facet in between gave them the invisibility they needed in the water. V checked his brother briefly before grinning widely. A flick of his long powerful tail, and he was off like a rocket.

  Ladon shook his head, he knew he could beat V. When it came to winning a battle or race, Ladon was the sure thing. Ladon flicked his tail and flew through the water like a bullet. As he passed his brother, he flipped him the bird and beat his tail with an extra pulse, leaving nothing but whitewash for his brother to follow.

  V grinned widely as he saw his brother fly past.

  This was never about winning for him, this was about giving Ladon, his brother, what he needed.

  This was V being the best leader he could be.

  Shivering as I sat in the back seat, I leaned my head against the padding of the headrest, my eyes followed the trickling rain droplets as they hit the window and roll sideways. My parents had taken me along to a business conference. It was so boring, and I had run out of my coloring books.

  “We will be home soon, sweetheart.”

  Looking up, I saw my mom’s eyes peering back at me through the seat separation. Nodding, I leaned back and returned my eyes to the racing droplets.

  Unclipping my seatbelt, I brought my knees up, wrapping my arms around them as I tried to keep my body heat from escaping.

  Going to school tomorrow was going to be a nightmare. The holidays started next week, which meant it was only a couple weeks until it was my birthday, and I would finally hit double digits. I loved going on road trips with my mom and dad. It was always an adventure, but tiring when it was a school night.

  Suddenly, the screech of tires came from nowhere, followed by shattering glass and crunching metal. The rear windshield shattered as my small body hit it, flying out into the cold air. I felt the jolting impact of hard, wet asphalt when I finally landed from what seemed like minutes in the air. I couldn’t move, my eyes wide and locked onto the lifeless eyes of my mother as she hung upside down, still strapped into her seat in our crumpled car.

  A movement behind the car made my eyes flicker up. In the seconds before the blackness engulfed me, I stared directly into the golden eyes of a man-size bird.

  Elyse sat bolt upright in her bed, the sweat pouring off her body. She had no idea where that dream had come from, but her heart was beating outside her chest. She looked at the time—she wasn’t due at work for hours. After that dream, though, she knew going back to sleep wasn’t going to be an option. Elyse sighed and flicked back the covers much to Quil’s disapproving grumbles, and she went to have a shower. She’d never had a dream like that before. She wasn’t even there when her parents died.

  Surely, she would have remembered if she was. Right?

  Elyse made her way into work later that day, having decided that the dream must have been a side effect of caring for Charlie last night. A subconscious planting of a seed which had made her have a dream. That’s her story, and she was sticking to it. Walking into the still closed bar was one of her favorite times of the day. Everything was still clean, in its place, and untouched by the day’s impending craziness. Grabbing her lanyard and looping it over her head, she popped her head into the kitchen. “Morning team.”

  The kitchen staff looked up and smiled as she vanished back into her domain. Walking over to the front desk, she ran her finger down the day’s bookings. Her eyes snagged on a booking for tonight. All she had written down was dragon’s breath. Elyse hadn’t remembered the trio’s names, only that they loved her drink. “That will be interesting, better get in some practice.” She wouldn’t want to embarrass herself in front of people who were so complimentary to her.

  Elyse opened the door and clipped it back. Minutes later, in walked her regulars.

  “Hey, Doug.”

  “Morning, Doug.”

  “Doug, baaabe, looking good this morning.”

  Elyse smiled as she was greeted with kindness from her guys. They weren’t really hers, but they stayed here from open to close and were like her pseudo-family. Brothers that she knew would look out for her should she ever need them. Behind the bar, she placed the drinks they didn’t need to ask for in front of them. The manners that followed were impeccable—they all knew her rules and abided by them without question.

  “You seem happy this morning,” Bill said as he came down from upstairs. “I take it you were able to help your friend last night?”

  Elyse looked up and smiled warmly at her boss, her friend, her father figure. “Yes, thankfully, it seemed to be a misunderstanding. Although, I will never get used to the rudeness of the police in this town.”

  “Hear, hear,” came from Justin as he sat at the far end of the bar. “They’re nothing but rude bastards.”

  “Right?” Elyse nodded. “Can’t a guy see men turning into birds and still be treated like a sane human being?”

  “Wait! What?” Bill stopped to look back at her.

  Elyse’s eyes went wide with her own shock at last night’s adventure. “You heard me. My friend thought he saw men turn into birds and decided to enlighten Aberdeen’s finest.”

  “Obviously, one too many tipples?” Bill asked with concern.

  “That’s the weirdest part, he doesn’t drink. The fuzz tested him… he was completely clean. He swears he saw what he saw. I think he must have hit his head or something.” Elyse shrugged.

  “At least you were able to get him out?”

  Elyse nodded. “Yeah. I signed some forms and took him back to his place.” She held up her hand to stop Bill speaking as she continued, “I offered my place. He firmly rejected the idea.”

  “Stubborn, huh?” Bill nodded with a grin. “Must be one of your friends then.”

  “On a positive note, I finally achieved top ranking on Warcraft.” Elyse smiled brightly. “That guy I’ve been hunting, I got him. It was one of the best moments of my life.”

  “Gamers,” huffed Peter from over at the table he had moved to with his beer. “Don’t understand them.”

  Elyse looked over to
him. “Lucky it’s not your understanding I require then, isn’t it, Peter?”

  He mumbled and lowered his eyes from her confrontational comment.

  “That’s right, just drink your beer and leave the cockflappery for another day.”

  “I’m just glad you’re happy, kid. That’s all I ever want,” Bill said earnestly.

  “What’s not to be happy about? I have a great job, a great apartment. I have a crazy but irreplaceable faux family, and I just got top listing on a game I love to play.”

  Bill rubbed her shoulder supportively. “And it’s that positive attitude which will always secure your success. I am blessed you crossed my path, kid.”

  “Same, Bill.” Elyse’s smile was warm and filled with all the affection she had for the man who had become her father. She’d decided not to mention the dream. It was nothing but a crazy fantasy fed by a man with a mental health issue. No need to worry anyone about something that wouldn’t happen again.

  “Enough with the touchy-feely crap. If I wanted to talk feelings, I would have stayed at home and listened to my wife bitch about how I don’t listen to her enough,” Peter said as she walked back up to the bar. “Just refill my glass, Doug.”

  Elyse’s eyes widened as she paused to stare at him.

  “Please,” he added sheepishly.

  “I thought that’s what I heard. Sure thing, Pete.” Pulling him a beer, she smiled, taking the cash in exchange for the drink. “On a side note, Pete, listen to your wife. If she is still willing to stick around you while you stay here and drink away your stress, she’s a stronger woman than me. I would have kicked your ass to the curb by now.”

  Chuckling erupted from the other men sitting at the bar. “You’re one heck of a woman, Doug. Remind me why you’re single again?” Jonesy said.

  “All the good ones are married and presently sitting at a bar, drinking at eleven in the morning instead of being there for their families and wives.” Elyse’s sarcasm was dripping off her words like thick, black honey.

  “Ahhh, kid?” Bill said. “Their drinking pays your wages.”