by Tesha Geddes
❀
Sen stood back and watched Kaida interact with the thunderbirds. When he was certain she was alright and didn’t need him, he quietly slipped back to their room. He shifted back into his human form and checked his phone. He sighed in relief as the call went through.
“Sen!” Celicia screamed on the other end. “Where are you? What happened? What took you so long to call? We’ve been worried sick about you! How’s Kaida? Is she alright?”
“We’re fine,” Sen assured his sister. “Storm Thunderfeather felt Kaida’s fear through the bond with the feather he gave her. He came to rescue her.”
“She was fine with us,” Celicia griped. “Why couldn’t he have just left her?”
“Kaida’s father made that storm,” Sen replied quietly. “That’s why she was so frightened, and why Storm decided to take us away. Kaida’s fine now. She’s meeting the rest of the aerie right now –– they adore her. I’m sorry I couldn’t call earlier; my phone was wet and wouldn’t work.”
Celicia let out a shaky breath. “Do you think her father knows where she is?” she whispered.
“I don’t know,” Sen answered softly. “I can’t think of any other reason a dragon would come and make a storm over Whispering Pines. We might have the best magical university, but we’re still just a college town. Storm said he’d have someone investigate. Until we know for sure why her father is here, it isn’t safe for her to return.”
“It’s not just that,” Celicia said quietly. “Don’t tell Kaida this, but Joan’s shop was robbed last night. They used the cover of the storm to make off with the Sunstar trees. I thought it was just a coincidence, but now...”
Sen inhaled sharply. “First the break-in at her apartment, then the storm, and now this,” he said. “The only thing that connects all three…”
“Is Kaida,” Celicia finished. “I know.”
❀
Kaida perched on a boulder, watching the fledgling thunderbirds play. The air was chilly, and her breath steamed. She shivered lightly –– she’d need to find some warmth soon.
“I didn’t know dragons got cold,” Teak, a juvenile thunderbird, said.
“Most don’t,” Kaida replied. “Fire drakes have an inner fire that keeps them warm, and ice dragons are built for the cold. Storm dragons are built for just about any kind of inclement weather… except for extreme dry heat. I am none of those, so I get cold.”
“I see,” Teak said. “My feathers are at your service, should you need them.”
“Thank you,” Kaida said. She probably wouldn’t take him up on his offer –– she didn’t know him very well, and besides, she preferred fur to feathers. Speaking of fur, where had Sen gone? She looked around but saw no sign of him. She lifted off the boulder and flew away in search of him.
❀
“There you are!” Kaida said when she finally found the wolf in a side cavern, talking to Storm. She landed on his back, relishing the warmth emanating from him.
Storm nodded at her. “I was just telling Sen that I should hear back from my source any moment regarding the origin and purpose of the storm last night.”
Kaida shuddered lightly and said, “Thank you for looking into this for me. What’s going to happen if he was there for me?” She wanted to believe it was a coincidence but couldn’t convince herself of it. Why else would the great Mordecai Furywings come to a small college town? “How do you think he found me?”
“I can’t answer that question,” Storm said, “but I can say that you, as a member of our aerie, you are welcome to live here as long as you choose--be it a few days, or the rest of your life. And I’m sure your new wolf pack feels the same way.”
“Thank you,” Kaida said, dipping her head in gratitude. She appreciated the offer and the acceptance, but the aerie wasn’t home. No, her heart belonged in a forest of towering trees and flowing streams, running with wolves.
“We might not be able to protect you like the thunderbirds can, but you will always have a home with the pack,” Sen said.
❀
“Thank you for letting me crash here last night,” Mordecai said, nursing a cup of coffee and a headache.
Tusk just grunted, but Ivory smiled sympathetically, saying, “Anytime.”
A firm knock sounded on the door, and Tusk went to answer it. Mordecai grimaced when he saw the uniformed police officer at the door –– they were probably here for him. In a mostly human city, the source of the storm he accidentally created last night might have gone unnoticed, but this city was one of the few with a mostly magical population. The authorities would want to know why a storm dragon was messing with their weather. He sighed as he looked at his coffee. He hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol in years, but it wasn’t for himself that he’d abstained. And now, his reason for sobriety was gone. He’d just wanted to forget his pain for a little. Unfortunately, dragons couldn’t get drunk without potentially disastrous consequences. Now it was time to face the music.
“Sir, the door is for you,” Tusk said.
Mordecai nodded and stepped outside to speak with the officer, Officer Perry, according to his nametag.
Officer Perry gave Mordecai a hard look and said, “Last night we received a report of storm magic centering around this residence. What do you know of this incident?”
“That was my fault, sir,” Mordecai said –– it was no use denying the fact. “I got drunk and lost control of my powers.”
Officer Perry arched an eyebrow at him and scribbled a note in his notepad. “I see,” he said. “And do you frequently get drunk and make storms?”
Mordecai frowned at him in annoyance. How irresponsible did he think he was? “No, sir,” he replied. “I haven’t touched the drink in years.”
Officer Perry regarded him with narrowed eyes. “And what drove you to drink last night?” he asked.
Mordecai’s frown turned into a scowl. His reasons for drinking were none of this man’s business. “I don’t see how that’s relevant, sir.”
Officer Perry stared him down, not even flinching. Who was this man? Most people turned into quivering puddles when a dragon scowled at them like Mordecai was doing, but Officer Perry looked ready to punch his lights out. Mordecai’s respect for the man begrudgingly grew.
“I received word that my daughter”––Mordecai paused to swallow the lump that formed in his throat––“took her own life. I just… I just wanted… wanted to drown the pain for a bit.”
A look that might have been sympathy flashed across Officer Perry’s face. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he said. “I’ll turn in my report, and you’ll hear back from us within a week.”
Mordecai nodded. He’d probably be fined or given community service… possibly even jail time if the damage was bad enough, but he just couldn’t bring himself to care.
❀
“What excuse did he give?” Leander, Officer Perry’s partner, asked as he climbed back into the cruiser.
“Says his daughter committed suicide, so he was drinking away the pain,” Garrett Perry replied.
Leander growled in anger, and Garrett looked at his partner in alarm as tiny sparks of electricity began dancing up and down his arms. “Of all the bald-faced lies,” Leander growled. He couldn’t believe Mordecai would use that as his excuse.
“I don’t know,” Garrett said with a shrug, curious as to why his partner was so worked-up. “He looked pretty torn up.”
“So, he’s a fantastic actor. Give him an award,” Leander snapped. “But it wasn’t his daughter’s death that enticed him to drink last night.”
“And how do you know that?” Garrett asked. “Does this have something to do with why you wanted me to interrogate him? Normally, I’d say a dragon would have better luck with a dragon than a puny human.”
Leander nodded. “He’s… Mordecai is my father,” he confessed. “We haven’t seen each other in years. I… I don’t trust myself not to do something rash if I had to speak with him again.”
Garrett
arched an eyebrow at him in surprise. “That explains the uncanny resemblance,” he replied, looking carefully at his partner, “but it doesn’t explain why you didn’t react when I told you that your sister is dead.”
Just like that, the fire went out and a familiar heaviness blanketed Leander’s soul. “She didn’t commit suicide,” he said. “She was murdered thirteen years ago. She’s the reason I got out of Drake City, and why I no longer talk to my family.”
There was more Leander wanted to say, but Garrett wasn’t privy to that information. He really couldn’t believe that Mordecai would use his long-dead daughter as an excuse for his drunkenness. He’d loved his sister –– he still remembered her bright, happy smile, the way her eyes lit up when she got excited, and the way the sun glinted off her lavender hair. He’d come home from school one day to find her gone, without a trace… as if she’d never existed. When he’d asked his mother about her, she’d gotten angry and told him that he’d never had a sister, that Kaida never existed. When his father had gotten home that night, he’d looked different… sadder and older. His parents didn’t say a word to each other that night. The next morning, his father left on a deployment that never ended. His mother was never the same either. While she’d never been a particularly loving individual, she’d become downright cold, and treated Leander as though she could barely stand his presence. He’d tried hard to become the kind of dragon he thought his mother wanted, to be strong, powerful, and brave, but it never worked. It had taken him a long time to figure out the truth about the day his sister disappeared.
He’d searched and searched, but was never able to find her body, so he’d built a shrine for her in his backyard instead. He still put flowers on it on her birthday and the day she disappeared. He frequently knelt at the shrine and wished he could go back in time and save her. It was during one of those visits that he’d come up with the idea for Operation: Underground Dragon. It was too late to save his sister, but he could still save others. It had taken a long time to set things in motion, but the wheels were turning, and he’d already rescued a few young dragons.
“Come on,” Leander said, shaking himself from his thoughts. “We need to report back to the captain. And look into that magical plant shop theft.”
❀
“Kaida,” Storm called.
Kaida looked up from where she was sunning herself with Sen curled around her. This close to winter, the sunlight wasn’t particularly strong, and she appreciated the added warmth Sen’s wolf gave off.
“I’ve received a report regarding the storm from last night,” Storm continued. Kaida sat up expectantly, curling her tail around herself in an attempt to stem her shaking. “According to my informant, Mordecai Furywings claims to have gotten drunk and lost control of his powers.” He paused and eyed Kaida with a measuring gaze. “Mordecai claims that his daughter took her life, and that is the reason for his drinking.”
Kaida was stunned –– not by the news that her father thought she was dead, but by the news that her death drove him to drinking. Maybe there was still some small part of him that cared about her. She mentally shook herself –– if he’d truly cared, he wouldn’t have left her with Maribeth. Regardless, there was still an important question that needed to be answered.
“What was he doing in Whispering Pines?” Kaida asked.
“You don’t seem surprised by news of your supposed death,” Storm replied.
Kaida hesitated before quietly replying, “I faked my own death before I left. If Maribeth suspected I’d run away, she’d never stop hunting me.”
Storm nodded. “It seems Mordecai was visiting a fellow soldier, an elephant shifter by the name of Tusk Varana.”
If dragons could go pale, Kaida would look like a ghost. This was bad. Her only hope was that Tusk hadn’t figured out who, or what, she was, and that she was in fact related to Mordecai. She briefly considered trying to find him, but that would put her at a greater risk of running into her father. And if Tusk hadn’t realized she was Mordecai’s daughter, seeking him out might draw that connection. After all, there was no reason for him to suspect that Kaida Gracewing was related to Mordecai Furywings. She looked over at Sen and could see the same thoughts going through his head.
Chapter 25
“Girl, we have been so worried about you,” Tanya said, enveloping Kaida in a hug when she walked through the door. Erica and Sophie weren’t far behind. “Don’t ever do that to us again.”
“I’m sorry, guys,” Kaida said, hugging her roommates. “I lost my mind there for a bit, but I’m better now.” Her roommates frowned at her, clearly not believing the lie Kaida kept telling herself. “Okay,” she relented. “I’m still scared, and it might take some time, but I will be better.”
“We understand,” Erica said. “Celicia filled us in on what happened.”
“I’m sorry you didn’t feel safe here, but I really can’t argue with you flying to your hunky wolf shifter for protection,” Sophie said with a wry grin and a wink as Sen who was standing in the doorway. Sen suddenly became very interested in the construction of the door frame.
“What? No, I didn’t…” Kaida protested, her cheeks flaming. “I flew to the pack.”
That lie was even more unbelievable than the first.
“Right,” Celicia snorted, “and that would be why you tried to bite anyone that touched you besides Sen.”
Kaida looked at the tall wolf shifter in concern and said, “I didn’t hurt anyone, did I?”
Celicia waved her concern off with a causal hand gesture. “Don’t worry, Amyra got her fingers away in time.”
Kaida was relieved that she hadn’t hurt anyone, but in looking at Sen, she realized she needed to come clean before she did hurt someone… someone she cared about deeply.
She caught Sen’s eye and said, “Sophie’s right though. Last night, in the middle of my terror, the only coherent thought I had was that I needed to find you, because you were safe.”
Sen strode forward and pulled her into his arms. “And I’m glad you did,” he said.
Kaida sighed and leaned her head against his chest. Their height difference meant that Kaida’s head only came up to the middle of Sen’s chest, but he didn’t seem to mind. She’d spent most of the day as a dragon, cuddling up with Sen’s wolf for warmth, but this was different. She didn’t want to let go, but it was late, and they both had classes in the morning, so she reluctantly pulled away.
“Thank you… for everything,” Kaida said.
“Any time,” Sen said with a smile.
❀
Kaida lay awake that night, trying to settle her restless thoughts. So much had happened these last few days and knowing her father was in town didn’t help. Eventually, she gave up on sleep and decided to work on the final paper for her Magical History class. She jumped down from her bed and shifted into her human form. Then she threw on some clothes and shoes, grabbed her backpack, and slipped out the door. Most places on campus were closed, but the library was still open, which was good because there were a few reference books she needed in order to write her paper, in addition to the use of the library computers. She sighed –– she really needed to get a laptop, then she’d be able to work on things in her room, instead of schlepping across campus in the middle of the night.
She was halfway to the library when she heard someone behind her. Thinking it was another student on their way to a night class, she moved to the side to let them pass. As she stepped off the path and onto the grass, she felt magic bloom around her. The grass grew and tangled around her feet. Recognizing the danger, Kaida dropped her heavy backpack and tried to run back to the path, but the grass was up to her ankles by then. She twisted and struggled to free herself, but with every second, the grass crept up her legs. A strong arm wrapped around her, pinning her arms to her side. She opened her mouth to scream, but another hand shoved a sickly-sweet smelling cloth in her face and the world faded away.
❀
There was a loud knock
on the door and Erica went to answer it, frowning. Who would be knocking this early in the morning? Did one of the others forget their room key? She opened the door to find Oliver, their RA standing there.
“Is Kaida here?” Oliver asked.
“Um, I think she already left for class, but I’ll double check,” Erica said as she invited him in.
She went over to Kaida’s door and knocked, but as she suspected, there was no answer.
“Kaida, are you in there?” Erica asked loudly, still nothing. “Sorry,” she said to Oliver, “she’s probably in class right now.”